Since mask-wearing became compulsory over two years ago, it has seeped its way into all the crevices of everyday life. 

What was once merely a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19, has proven to have unexpected advantages and disadvantages. 

As in many other countries worldwide, wearing face masks both indoors and outdoors was compulsory in South Korea. 

People who failed to wear masks were fined up to 100,000 Korean won. 

In addition, the initial high fatality rate of COVID-19 tremendously increased people’s fear of the virus, which led to  a dramatic increase in consumer demand for masks that  outpaced the supply in 2020.

COVID-19, a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. 

It soon started transmitting between individuals  through saliva entering the nose, eyes, and mouth and eventually spread globally. 

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, the world went into lockdown. 

After evidence confirmed that keeping a social distance of one meter and wearing masks reduced the spread of the virus by 80%, many countries imposed regulations which required people to wear masks covering their noses and mouths to prevent the viral spread. 

Masks have brought several disadvantages that have made people unwilling to wear them. 

One of these said disadvantages is the fact that facial exposure can bring about annoyance when your electronic gadgets do not recognize your masked face for security. 

One of the more serious disadvantages of masks is the fact that it covers people’s mouths which brings about more serious problems which include difficulties in children's language acquisition. 

Children learn speech by imitating other people’s mouth shapes when speaking, but the children born during the COVID pandemic were unable to do so because the masks concealed the mouth. 

Another disadvantage is difficulties in interpersonal face recognition.

Because people could not see each other’s lower part of the face and only the upper part, it has become harder to remember each person’s face. 

Moreover, it has become more difficult to distinguish between individuals since many people look different when wearing masks than when they are not. 

However, beyond reducing the risk of getting COVID-19, wearing masks has also brought unexpected benefits. 

The covering of noses and mouths not only prevented the spread of the COVID-19 through aerosols but also reduced the risk of catching other illnesses such as colds and respiratory diseases caused by breathing in fine dust. 

The number of patients who received medical treatment for respiratory infections such as the cold, influenza, and pneumonia stood at 8.03 million from March to July this 2020  showing a decrease of 51.9% compared with the same period the previous year (16.7 million). 

Finally, wearing a mask has brought about another advantage which serves as an aesthetic benefit to many people who look better when wearing masks. We now even have a new term, “mask fisher,” which refers to someone who appears less attractive when they take off their mask. 

One can cover their puffy face with a mask or hide certain parts of the face that they don’t like. Concealing facial expressions and emotions can be particularly advantageous to service workers. 

Although the Korean government lifted the outdoor mask-wearing mandate on May 2, 2022, most people will likely continue to wear masks with these unexpected benefits. 

Their consistent willingness to keep wearing masks post-pandemic is surprising, considering how most people were unwilling to wear masks at the start of the pandemic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sohee Jung 

Grade 11 

Branksome Hall Asia