By Honorary Reporter Emilia Bucsan from Romania

President Moon Jae-in on March 25 visits a lab at Seegene, one of the producers of Korea's COVID-19 diagnostic reagents and kits. (Yonhap News)

While the global impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is considerably greater than expected, negatively influencing the economy, tourism, education and other sectors, the crisis has had a positive outcome: the strengthening of diplomatic relations between countries.

Since Korea is a global leader in proactively and successfully fighting the coronavirus, earning lots of international praise, other nations are trying to follow its lead.

Romania, a country significantly affected by the pandemic, had 1,292 confirmed cases as of March 27, and thus began to impose a series of regulations and restrictions to stop a further spread. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis declared a state of emergency on March 16 and urged all medical staff across the country to help slow the rate of infection and contain the outbreak. In addition, all shopping and entertainment facilities such as stores, restaurants, cinemas and even parks were closed and many cultural events canceled.

According to the news agency Romania Actualitati, a Korean company shipped to Romania about 20,000 coronavirus testing kits, masks and coveralls to help. Romanians have expressed their appreciation for this support by leaving numerous comments on the official page of the Korean Embassy in Bucharest or on their personal social media pages.

Korea is not only battling the pandemic internally but also engaging internationally. This demonstrates the nation's discipline and its ability to organize quickly in an emergency. Considering not only the transparency of the Korean government's decisions on the pandemic but also the willingness of Koreans to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, I strongly believe that Romania has many things to learn from the Korean people. I hope for the best and to overcome this crisis together, and I feel that everything will be fine in the end. Stay strong, Korea, Romania and the world.

chaey0726@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.