What is coronavirus?
Coronavirus is the name of a family of respiratory illnesses transferred from animals to humans. COVID-19 is the latest discovery of oronavirus with an unidentified origin in Wuhan, China in late December 2019. Since then, it has expanded to all seven continents of the globe.
- Spotlight: K-pop and the Coronavirus
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The world is overly familiar with the rise of the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging people’s health and countries’ economies at a grand scale and cost. This is including spending billions and billions of dollars (or foreign currency) on attempts to find ways to create vaccines, provide resources and compensate for individual losses pertaining to personal life, businesses and entire industries. One’s overall well-being, their professions and their communities are critically impacted. Many aspects of daily life have been postponed permanently canceled along with restricted movement and confinement to one’s own home with penalties for leaving or defying the law.
An increasingly popular industry that has been impacted by this disease is the K-Pop, or Korean Pop Music industry. Over the past couple of years, many boy bands and girl groups have formed and rose to become successful singers and performers. They have gained the reputation of fame and fortune across the globe with their fans. One such major world-renowned band is BTS or Bangtan Boys. Their scheduled tours across Asia and other regions have been suddenly canceled indefinitely.
- What Are Its Impacts on the Industry?
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South Korea has been one of the hardest-hit countries with the virus: 8,000+ cases have been diagnosed and confirmed, with multiple deaths and fast contamination spreading across the land. On the other hand, South Korea has also been the center of international growth in the world economy with an extremely high standard of living. The K-Pop music industry has been driving their income upwards because it brings in more tourists and raises the demand for concerts, performances, meet-and-greets, products, downloads, etc. The significance of the alarming consequences of COVID-19 has caused governments to take severe action in closing borders and assigning travel bans to certain, or by now, most destinations throughout the world. These actions have caused a loss in profits sought by these industries, which are typically worth billions and enough of a career’s earnings to live a prosperous and lavish lifestyle. Many adaptations like social distancing are emphasized as an urgent lifestyle change that must and should be followed if the virus is to be stopped, thus if BTS and others are to continue receiving high amounts of income.
- How Can We Help?
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This is a perfect example of how an industry made up of events like performances and concerts can cause a dramatic change – an increase or decrease in income and standard of living if the surrounding social and environmental effects continue to better or worsen depending upon uncontrollable and unforeseen circumstances. The idea of spontaneity is important to understand. One day, this disease could be cured of a vaccine or disappear due to environmental conditions. One day, this disease could mark the highest number of casualties in modern history due to a pandemic. We can’t predict future outcomes, but we currently know of ways to prevent it from further contaminating people and impacting the long-term outcomes on our daily lives. Wash hands often, keep reasonable distances, limit contact with people close by, quarantine and self-isolate when arriving from abroad, stay at home if you don’t feel well and visit the doctors for checkups.
COVID-19 is a very important matter that affects billions of people, despite mild symptoms in specific demographics. I think others can and should consider the power it has on different parts of our lives, and realize it’s not something to create entertaining memes, videos or captions about on social media. Please follow hygienic protocols, and be safe and courteous to areas and those around you.
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