An election worker and voters casting ballots in Seoul on Wednesday. South Koreans turned out in droves, despite the pandemic, to re-elect the ruling party. Credit… Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters.
South Korea is steadily dropping in the rankings of countries worst-hit by the pandemic. Once second only to China (population: about 1.4 billion), South Korea (population: 51.6 million) is now recording fewer total cases than Ireland (population: 4.9 million) and fewer deaths than the state of Colorado (population: 5.7 million).
… As early as late January, public health officials greenlighted efforts by the private sector to build up capacity for widespread testing for the coronavirus… As those test results came in, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare made sure the information was passed on swiftly and systematically to those who needed it: the general public… Contact tracing and public data-sharing of the kind just beginning in hard-hit states like Massachusetts has been a standard feature of daily life here.
... South Korea has drawn on its strengths as a liberal society to address the public health crisis — and this week its people doubled-down on democracy by turning out in droves to re-elect its leadership… Mr. Moon now has wind in his sails as he enters his last two years in office. For the foreseeable future, his focus, like that of every head of state across the planet, will be pandemic management.[my bolding]
(John Delury, “How Democracy Won the World’s First Coronavirus Election,” NYTimes, 4-16-2020)
I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.
EthicalDative 
What Winning Looks Like
South Korea is steadily dropping in the rankings of countries worst-hit by the pandemic. Once second only to China (population: about 1.4 billion), South Korea (population: 51.6 million) is now recording fewer total cases than Ireland (population: 4.9 million) and fewer deaths than the state of Colorado (population: 5.7 million).
… As early as late January, public health officials greenlighted efforts by the private sector to build up capacity for widespread testing for the coronavirus… As those test results came in, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare made sure the information was passed on swiftly and systematically to those who needed it: the general public… Contact tracing and public data-sharing of the kind just beginning in hard-hit states like Massachusetts has been a standard feature of daily life here.
... South Korea has drawn on its strengths as a liberal society to address the public health crisis — and this week its people doubled-down on democracy by turning out in droves to re-elect its leadership… Mr. Moon now has wind in his sails as he enters his last two years in office. For the foreseeable future, his focus, like that of every head of state across the planet, will be pandemic management. [my bolding]
(John Delury, “How Democracy Won the World’s First Coronavirus Election,” NYTimes, 4-16-2020)
One hopes.
(c) 2020 JMN
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About JMN
I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.