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The news report that sparked outrage among netizens in Vietnam was broadcast on South Korea's YTN News channel on February 25th. The channel shared a video clip showing 20 South Koreans undergoing quarantine in Da Nang. These tourists had all arrived in Vietnam from Daegu (South Korea) on February 24th and were subsequently taken to a quarantine facility by the Da Nang Department of Health.
Notably, through the uploaded video clip, this news channel made many one-sided and harsh comments such as: their country's citizens are being "detained" in poor facilities, cramped isolation rooms, etc. Those appearing in the video shared that they "felt unfairly treated"; despite having no symptoms of infection, they were still strictly "confined"; and were not provided with adequate meals. One person in the video even said they only received "a few pieces of bread" for breakfast.
YTN News suggests that the escalating pandemic situation in South Korea is the reason why its citizens are being treated unfairly abroad.
This incident immediately sparked two opposing reactions. Some South Koreans were angry that their compatriots were treated poorly in Vietnam; meanwhile, a large segment of Vietnamese people were also upset by the misleading language used by YTN News and the group of South Korean tourists. Within a day, the hashtags #ApologizeToVietnam and #KoreansStopLying quickly topped Twitter trends. On Facebook, many Vietnamese celebrities also defended their country by expressing their love for the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich – a globally renowned culinary symbol of Vietnam.
The top 5 trending hashtags on Twitter
In fact, since the outbreak of Covid-19, quarantine facilities in Vietnamese cities have received and cared for thousands of people returning from affected areas. Meals in these quarantine facilities are safe and nutritious to ensure citizens have sufficient health to fight the disease. After their quarantine period, these citizens are in good, stable health, and Vietnam has not recorded any positive cases of coronavirus in any of these quarantine areas.
Citizens go about their normal lives in quarantine areas - Photo: VnExpress
Medical staff will conduct daily temperature checks - Photo: VnExpress
The soldiers are preparing lunch for everyone - Photo: VnExpress
There are three meals a day, including lunch which consists of rice, soup, and shrimp/meat - Photo: VnExpress
A typical meal includes rice, vegetables, soup, and two main dishes - Photo: VnExpress
The Da Nang city government has not offered any comments or explanations regarding the controversial incident involving YTN News. The city's entire force is focused on implementing timely and rigorous COVID-19 prevention and control measures, given the escalating global pandemic situation.
These individuals have now been returned to South Korea by the Da Nang authorities.
