“It doesn’t matter that my country is stabilizing and coming to grips with this,” says South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, explaining the approach her country has taken to the coronavirus outbreak at a virtual World Economic Forum COVID Task Force meeting. “The world must overcome this together.”

Since its first confirmed case of COVID-19 in late January, South Korea has shown a determination in the face of the virus that appears to be paying off. From a sudden spike in the number of cases to its decision to implement widespread testing, South Korea has shown itself able to respond quickly and decisively.

“But you need to plan and to stay one step ahead,” says Foreign Minister Kang. “We took an all-government approach. The Prime Minister created a task force of all government ministries and, crucially, all regional and city governments, too – we are a very devolved democracy.”

Foreign Minister Kang also explains that being open with people and securing their trust is vitally important. “The key to our success has been absolute transparency with the public – sharing every detail of how this virus is evolving, how it is spreading and what the government is doing about it, warts and all.”

Unlike Italy, China, the UK and parts of the US, there was no lockdown in South Korea. It did, however, close its schools. There have been postponed attempts at reopening them, but reopen they must, according to Foreign Minister Kang.

“Even with schools opening, we realize it’s not going to be normal like things were before the coronavirus. Normal after the virus is going to look very different. This will be with us for a long time. So we all need to find a way to manage it at a status quo level.”