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The Boseong branch of the National Council of Consumer Education in South Jeolla Province make masks to hand out to those in need on Mar. 10. (provided by the Boseong branch of the National Council of Consumer Education)

The novel coronavirus epidemic is making masks increasingly scarce, motivating people around South Korea to join a campaign to share masks with neighbors in need. This campaign comes in a number of guises; some are opting not to buy publicly distributed masks while others are making masks themselves.

The Haeundae District of Busan posted a message on Facebook on Mar. 9 titled, “The ‘don’t buy masks’ campaign: let others have masks; I’m OK, you go first!” The post encouraged readers to waive their right to buy masks, to make sure masks are available for the medical personnel combatting COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in the trenches and the physically vulnerable people who really need them.

“The first people receiving masks ought to be those with respiratory conditions and members of disadvantaged groups who have trouble buying them. We should be considerate and give such people primary access to masks, since that can prevent second- and third-generation community infection,” said Hong Sun-heon, head of the district. The #Don’tBuyMasksCampaign and #LetOthersHaveMasks hashtags are being widely shared on social media.

An online community for mothers in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, launched a “don’t buy masks” campaign on Monday, the day the government implemented its mask rationing program. The campaign was kicked off by a message posted to the community titled, “Do you want to join the ‘don’t buy public masks’ campaign?” The post got a positive response from many members of the community. “I bought two masks for a coworker who doesn’t have any using my child’s resident registration number. My family can get by with our current supply,” one member wrote.

When a message about the “don’t buy masks” campaign was posted to a community for mothers in the Uijeongbu area on Mar. 3, one member commented that “I hope elderly people have an easy time buying masks at pharmacies.” “Standing anxiously in line is another kind of panic buying,” another wrote. Other community members said they’d decrease their mask usage by practicing social distancing and staying home.

People around the country are also starting to make their own masks and share them with those facing a shortfall. On Mar. 5, the Busan Saemaeul Women’s Association began making masks at its office with 15 borrowed sewing machines. Four days later, it distributed 3,000 masks to residents and workers at 27 homes for infants and young children with serious disabilities and 42 group homes for the disabled (72 centers altogether) via the Korea Association of Welfare Institutes for Persons with Disabilities. Branches of the Saemaeul Women’s Association in 16 districts and counties in Busan are planning to make 5,000 masks a day for a total of 100,000 masks that will be delivered to vulnerable groups.

Some 20 members of a community welfare group in the Seochang neighborhood of Gwangju’s Seo (West) District made 100 masks on Mar. 10 for the local government office to distribute to vulnerable households. They’re planning to made 4,000 altogether that will be handed out to 400 households.

Since Mar. 7, 20 members of a back-to-the-farm association in Yeongam County in South Jeolla Province have been making 100 masks a day to distribute to citizens in Daegu. “It was distressing to see long lines of people in front of pharmacies. I wanted to do something for people in Daegu who are dealing with such hardship,” said Lee Myeong-ja, chair of the association.

Twenty members of the Boseong branch of the National Council of Consumer Education have been making 400 masks at Daegyo Bookstore, in Boseong Township, South Jeolla Province, since Mar. 5 to send to 330 children at 11 local children’s centers. “In a time of crisis, the first people we ought to be thinking about are those who are in trouble. We’re also going to make masks for the elderly and send them to senior centers,” said Seon Hyo-nam, 62, chair of the branch.

These groups aren’t the only ones who’ve been spending both weekdays and weekends diligently working sewing machines since the beginning of this month. They’re joined by 40 members of the Yeonggwang County Association for Improving Lives in South Korea, 40 members of the Yeosu Women’s Culture Center, 50 members of the Suncheon Civic University, and 10 members of the Gokseong County Group for Studying the Healing Properties of Agriculture, all in South Jeolla Province. These groups are planning to make 3,000-4,000 masks from cloth and filters they’ve purchased and then handing them out to elderly people who live alone or have limited mobility and to those who have limited access to masks because they live in remote areas or small islands. They’ll be packing spare filters and sanitary instructions with the masks they deliver. The “beautiful mask sharing campaign” is also underway in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province; Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province; Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province; Jangsu, North Jeolla Province; and Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.

By Ahn Kwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent, Kim Kwang-soo, Busan correspondent, Park Kyung-man, North Gyeonggi correspondent, and Jung Dae-ha, Gwangju correspondent

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