Seoul City Forms Joint Response Team with Universities and Local Governments for Chinese Students... Support from Entry Shuttle to Temporary Housing

Seoul City, Ministry of Education, Universities, and Districts Hold Countermeasure Meeting
City Forms 'Joint Response Team for Chinese Incoming International Students' with 25 Districts and 49 Universities
Active Support from Arrival Pickup to Temporary Housing and 1:1 Monitoring of International Students

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will form a joint response team with 25 autonomous districts and 49 universities to protect and support international students arriving from China, conducting measures from airport arrival to temporary housing and one-on-one health monitoring.

On the 21st, at the Seoul City Hall Planning Situation Room, a meeting was held on measures to protect and support international students arriving from China related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), attended by Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, nine district heads from areas with high concentrations of international students, and nine presidents of major universities with over 1,000 international students.

The number of Chinese international students attending universities in Seoul is 38,330 across 68 universities (34,267 across 49 universities excluding cyber universities), and approximately 17,000 Chinese international students are expected to arrive in the future.

First, the joint response team will operate shuttle services from the airport to the universities when international students arrive from China. Universities will operate school buses and call vans, and for schools that find it difficult to manage on their own, the autonomous districts will provide support, with the city covering shuttle operation costs. After arrival, international students will be given guidelines on compliance and living rules, which will be distributed at special entry quarantine stages and arrival halls.

Regarding housing support, universities will prioritize accommodating Chinese international students using dormitories and university idle facilities and manage them exclusively. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and autonomous districts plan to secure and support temporary housing spaces. Priority for temporary housing support will be given to international students who showed suspicious symptoms upon arrival but tested negative, those who were notified to self-quarantine due to confirmed contact with infected persons but have nowhere to stay, and others in similar situations.

For international students living outside dormitories, university monitoring personnel will call them directly at least twice a day to check their health status one-on-one. Additionally, students will be required to input their health status daily through a mobile self-diagnosis application. If universities lack sufficient monitoring personnel, autonomous districts and the Seoul Metropolitan Government will provide budgets to secure additional staff.

Furthermore, to alleviate vague hostility or suspicion toward Chinese international students, the city plans to actively inform the public through meetings with autonomous district resident committees, Korean-Chinese community organizations, and university student councils that Chinese international students are allowed entry only after undergoing special entry procedures and if asymptomatic. In addition, concentrated disinfection will be carried out in universities, temporary housing facilities, and areas densely populated with universities.

On this day, the Ministry of Education agreed to share the information entered by international students arriving from China into the 'self-diagnosis app' with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and universities. Once the information is transmitted, local governments and universities will be able to respond quickly to situations.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said, "We will do our best to prevent the spread of infectious diseases due to the arrival of Chinese international students and alleviate the anxiety of local residents," adding, "Vague hostility and suspicion toward Chinese international students are a hate virus that we must overcome as much as the COVID-19 virus itself, and we will resolve this through close communication between local residents and international students."