Over the past few months, the Coronavirus has spread and killed thousands of innocent individuals in hundreds of countries. In South Korea alone, 256 people lost their lives due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, millions of teachers across the world are busy fixing their plans for this year’s summer break. Reluctant to go outside, teachers are cancelling their trips and planning to stay home.
“My initial plan was to visit Washington D.C. to see my mother and best friend,” said Ms. Grant, English 9 teacher. “However, my plans were cancelled due to the Coronavirus, and I am rather looking forward to visiting new places in South Korea, such as Busan. If possible, I might travel to Jeju Island. However, travelling outside Korea will definitely be difficult this year.”
The Coronavirus has definitely affected the teacher’s plans for this year’s summer break. Especially due to the danger of travelling, most of the teachers’ planned trips are cancelled for safety. In fact, kept indoors due to the Coronavirus, a lot of people are entertaining themselves with Netflix at home. According to the Mercury News, Netflix added approximately 16 millions new subscribers as demand for Netflix surged due to the pandemic. For example, the new release of a hit show, “Tiger King,” attracted 64 million people. Confined at home, millions of viewers find Netflix enjoyable.
“Usually I spend about 2 weeks of the summer in Korea and the rest of the time traveling,” said Whitney Lynn Meininger, the director of choirs. “This year, that’s going to be really difficult, because even if locations are open, traveling will most likely mean a 2 week quarantine on both ends, so that would be a month of summer spent inside. My plan is to stay in Korea, and hopefully travel and see places here that I haven’t seen yet. And of course, Netflix is honestly always a pretty big part of my summer, but it will absolutely be a defining factor this year. I’m on the lookout for new shows to binge watch!”
It definitely appears like Netflix is growing popular due to the pandemic. Providing access to more than 150 different shows, Netflix is definitely becoming a huge part of everyone’s plans for this year’s break. Not only students, but teachers are also planning to enjoy Netflix for this summer. However, staying indoors does not simply mean watching Netflix for some people. Searching for new types of hobbies, they are looking forward to spending their break in creative and different ways.
“I try to stay somewhat active to maintain my sense of well-being: getting out for walks, going out to eat, etc,” said Jared Rock, communications 9 teacher. “I just try my best to keep my distance from others and practice all recommended behaviors. Like most people, I have been spending a lot more time tracking, reading about, and listening to podcasts on COVID-19 and epidemiology in general. I’ve also used the time to read and listen to podcasts for my own enjoyment. I haven’t picked up any new indoor hobbies, but I did recently get back into calligraphy, after several years. Also, I’ll stay in Korea this summer, perhaps use it as an opportunity to travel around the country. I don’t have any firm plans. However, I did cancel two trips: 1 – I was planning to visit a school in The Philippines over the early May holiday. 2 – I was planning on attending my brother’s wedding in the US in late May. Both of those trips were cancelled. I also had rough travel plans around Central Asia this summer, but I stopped any planning on that back in January.”
