Masks Sold Out in Korean Towns Across the U.S.

Difficulty Buying Masks Domestically
Requesting Shipment Through Acquaintance
Most Parcels to Korea Are Blocked

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] "Most of the parcels heading to Korea are masks. The situation must be serious."

Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the shortage of masks in Korea has worsened, extending its influence to the United States. There are cases where Korean residents in the U.S. are buying masks at the request of acquaintances in Korea and sending them to their homeland.

A CJ Logistics official in the Korean town of New Jersey, whom we recently met, hinted, "These days, most of the parcels going to Korea are masks."

This phenomenon is interpreted as being caused by the increasing number of requests to Koreans living in the U.S. due to difficulties in mask supply within Korea.

However, sending masks from the U.S. to Korea by parcel is expected to become more difficult. This is because a mask shortage has also begun to appear within the U.S.

On the 25th (local time), it was virtually impossible to purchase masks at major U.S. online and offline shopping malls such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Most masks listed as available for purchase showed notices that delivery would take several weeks, indicating no stock. Masks that could be purchased required visiting stores far away, but the quantities were extremely limited to one or two boxes.

At large franchise pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens in New York City and nearby New Jersey, masks have long disappeared. When attempting to buy masks at CVS, clerks shook their heads. A CVS employee explained, "They have been sold out for quite some time." This is interpreted as a result of Chinese people buying masks intensively since the outbreak of COVID-19 in China last month. It means that before our Korean residents secured masks, there was already a buying frenzy centered on Chinese people.

With almost no stores selling masks, Korean residents had to visit more than 7 to 8 pharmacies to barely obtain a few masks. The stock of pharmacies that used to sell masks is also almost depleted. A pharmacy located in Fort Lee, New Jersey, had recently advertised "N95 masks available" in front of the store but sold all its stock on the 24th.

A CJ Logistics official said, "Since the nearby pharmacies have run out of masks, it seems there will be no more parcel shipments."