Our Life Under 14-day Quarantine in South Korea (June 2020)

This is a continuation after we returned back to South Korea during the second wave of Covid-19.

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Every person arriving in South Korea from overseas is required to complete a mandatory 14-day quarantine to prevent the spread of Covid-19!

During our 14-Day Quarantine: We can’t leave our apartment, no visitors! We have to do Self-monitoring and heath check with temperature and health questions 2 times a day (Morning & Evening) and input in the app “Self Quarantine Safety Protection”

*Daily temperature input in the Quarantine app 2 times a day in Korea, 06/02/2020

We did the 14-Day Quarantine once in Houston when we went back from South Korea to the USA during the first outbreak of Covid-19 in February.

*Our first Self-Quarantine temperature log in USA, February 2020

Also, our life has been on lock-down and Stay at Home order for the last 3 months in the USA (Mar-May) in Louisiana. So we are getting used to everyday life quarantine ever since!

But this is mandatory and the Korean government is watching us by tracking our smartphones!

*The app alert during our quarantine when we left the phone in charger too long…

*The app alert during our quarantine when I was late to input my temperature in the app.

Don’t try to break the rules by going outside without your smartphone, because if you are caught you will be fined up to ~$10,000 USD and you will have to wear a wrist band, or you may be deported!!!!

If you have any questions about entering South Korea during Covid-19, please cal KCDC (Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), or get up to date info by visiting the KCDC web page (https://www.cdc.go.kr/cdc_eng/).

DAY 1, your first day in South Korea, you start day 1 of Quarantine in South Korea at the airport.

DAY2 YOU WILL BE expected to make an appointment with YOUR LOCAL HEALTH CARE CENTER FOR COVID-19 TEST (you can do this on day one if you arrive early enough)

We were picked up by the clinic for our Covid-19 test at 2.30 pm in Geoje Island where we lived. The process went very smoothly because we had our company nurse organizing everything.

The reason we were picked up by the ambulance was that we don’t have our own car in South Korea yet.
FYI Geoje Health Center phone number: 055 639 6133

*Four of us were picked up by one car because we have been traveling together from the USA.

We had the Covid-19 test in the USA prior to our departure, so we took the Covid-19 test 2 times in one week! Covid-19 test in South Korea, they do a swab by nose and back of the throat!

*Covid-19 Test, Throat Swab, South Korea (06/03/20)

*Covid-19 Test, Nose Swab, South Korea (06/03/20)

Nothing fun at all about these Covid-19 tests!!!

We’re required to do a one-time test assuming your result is negative. I heard that Samsung employees have to do 2 times, once on arrival and another to be released from quarantine, regardless of the first result!

We’ll get the results from the test within 24 hours.

*Quarantine Package

After the test, we got one bag full of masks/hand gel/ MD-125 spray (for trash)/ Trashbags/one-time use thermometers, and another big quarantine food box (I think it’s enough for a family of 2). These are provided by the Red Cross and Local government (Geoje).

* Bio-Hazard Trash bag and MD-125 Spray for using during 14day-Quarantine

* One Time Use-Thermometer that we got from Geoje Health Center.  We got just 28 of them it won’t be enough for 14day-quarantine for 2 of us.  So eventually you have to have your own thermometer.

* All food and snacks (and Kimchi!) that we got from the Quarantine Package…

The most important document that we got from our local (Geoje) Health Center is the Notice of solation/Quarantine. This is to confirm your effective period for 14-day Quarantine.

*We arrived in South Korea on 6/2/2020 around 4.30 pm,  our Quarantine is until 6/16/2020 at 12:00 pm (lunch).

DAY 3
We got the Covid-19 test result and we both are negative (again).  We still have to complete the 14-day quarantine!

Day 14, The Quarantine is complete!!!

You will receive the message 1-2 hrs prior to your quarantine is completed and then you can delete your app, YAHOO! Freedom!!!

Trash During Quarantine???

But what about trash? You know that South Korea is all about trash segregation and recycling!!!
We will have to use the trash orange bio-hazard bag that we got from the Geoje Health Center after the Covid-19 test for all trash generated during the quarantine.

We can put all kinds of trash in the orange bag.  If you want to dispose of the trash, you can call the Local Public Healthcare center to pick it up. But we’ve been told to keep them in the house with us until we finish 14day- Quarantine. Because if you develop Covid-19 symptoms during Quarantine, you will have to report all the trash that you disposed of.

Spray the waste bag every day!

*MD-125 Spray we got from Health Center, pray for sterilization, disinfection, anti-germ, anti-virus, etc to our trash during Quarantine

Don’t freak out the locals by throwing away your trash with ORANGE BAG or HAZARDOUS Bag!!!

During our quarantine, they found the orange trash bag at the RECYCLE ROOM. They called to check with us to see if we dumped that trash or not!!!

The Bio-Hazard bag we got from Health care is 35L size, we needed bigger standard garbage bags.  The 50L bag costs 1,800 won each (~$1.50)

Trash management in South Korea is very serious, we have to make sure that we did it right!

So our first freedom trip after quarantine is to dump our trash …haha

For more info about safe waste treatment guideline for self-quarantined people before confirmed with COVID-19 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkgylC3SuxE

Grocery Shop/Some Online shopping

We do have friends helping us for grocery shops or run to get things that we need and drop in front of our door.

I can also shop online! So we don’t have any problems with food/water.

*Our sign for the delivery “Please knock and leave our package in front our door or on the bench, THANK YOU”

There are many food delivery services in South Korea.
Unfortunately, most only speak Korean (go figure..).  The difficult part is telling them your address in Korea.

*Papa Johns  Pizza, Tel. 1577-8080.
In Korea, you have to call and ask for English Rep., then they will call you back with English speaking.  We left the cash in front of our door when we ordered delivery food. The Sign says, Papa Johns, please keep the change “THANK YOU”.

* There are 2 food apps that I used to order food, “여기요 (Yogiyo), 배민 (Baemin)”.  I have to have 2 phones to order, one is for the food delivery app, and one is for translations (because they are only Korean)

* We just learned that some delivery food comes with nice plates, we have to leave the empty plate outside our door after we finish.  They will come to collect it later.

There is Costco in South Korea that offers English website https://www.costco.co.kr/, if you are Costco member, you can register for Online order BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE BANK ACCOUNT IN KOREA OR LOTTE CREDIT CARD.

The most Expat friendly is the GMarket Global app and you can use an oversea credit card but it’s a little pricy…

For more Korean Online Shopping, please check out this link: https://www.ivisitkorea.com/online-shopping-in-korea/

In Geoje Island, there is another service called MAX Delivery that you can order food on their list and they just charge you for delivery.

Max Delivery is an Expat friendly food service, you can send the message to ask for the booklet (Restaurant list), they will drop the book in front of your door.

The first week of our quarantine went very fast and easy because we are jet-lagged. So we slept more than stayed awake!

As we live in an apartment and we have a dog. There is nothing to do with our dog for quarantine, but she just stuck with us. We can’t walk her outside, so all we need for our dog is the sanitary pads, enough for 14days!

*Jammai, our dog is 10 years old and now has to be trained for the inside potty!  She was a little confused, but she figured it out… When you gotta go, you gotta go!

I hope this would be our last Quarantine for us…F R E E D O M ! ! !

Useful Notes during our 14day Quarantine (Thanks Tammy!)
Please knock and leave the package (on the bench) outside our door, thank you: “노크해주시고 문앞에 (있는 의자위에) 놓아주세요. 감사합니다”
Please keep the change: 잔돈은 필요없어요
Please leave the change in front of the door:  잔돈은 문앞에 놓아주세요
Please leave the change on the table: 잔돈은 의자에 놓아주세요
We have 50,000won, please prepare the small change: 5만원권 드릴께요. 잔돈 준비해 주세요

In the memory of Lowell E.

During our 14day-Quarantine in South Korea, my husband lost his father who succumbed to heart failure. It’s heartbreaking news while we are stuck in here.

This blog is dedicated to him with love.

Wishing you all stay safe during the Covid-19 Pandemic.