COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea

The first case of COVID-19 in South Korea was announced on 20 January 2020. The number of confirmed cases increased on 19 February by 20, and on 20 February by 58 or 70, giving a total of 346 confirmed cases on 21 February 2020, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), with the sudden jump mostly attributed to "Patient 31" who participated in a gathering at a Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony church in Daegu.

Amidst fears of further contamination, mass gatherings in the affected cities were cancelled and about 300 soldiers in Daegu were placed in isolation. On 4 February 2020, in order to help prevent spread of the disease, South Korea began denying entry to foreigners traveling from Hubei Province in China.

South Korea introduced what was considered one of the largest and best-organised epidemic control programs in the world, along with Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Various measures were taken to mass test the population for the virus, and isolate any infected people as well as trace and quarantine those they had contact with, without any further lockdown. The rapid and extensive testing undertaken by South Korea was initially successful in limiting the spread of the outbreak, without using the drastic measure of locking down entire cities. A significant rise in the number of new infections began in August 2020, with clusters being linked to Protestant churches in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. Another rise began in the third week of November, and Seoul entered a third wave of infections. On 24 November, the government raised the social distancing level in Seoul to level 2.