Causing trouble and being transmissible: COVID-19 survivors' experiences of stigma and discrimination in South Korea

Jiyeon Kang; Hyang Soo Kim; Hyun Ji Yi; Yesung Lee; So Hee Lee; Kyoung-Ho Song; Hye Yeon Park; Hong Sang Oh; Doran Yoon; Pyoeng Gyun Choe; Eun Joo Lee; Chi-Hyun Choi; Minyoung Sim; Eun-Seung Yu; Jong-Woo Paik; Hye Yoon Park

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1103572

Causing trouble and being transmissible: COVID-19 survivors' experiences of stigma and discrimination in South Korea

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Mar 14:14:1103572. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1103572. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Jiyeon Kang¹, Hyang Soo Kim², Hyun Ji Yi³, Yesung Lee¹, So Hee Lee⁴, Kyoung-Ho Song⁵, Hye Yeon Park⁶, Hong Sang Oh⁷, Doran Yoon⁷, Pyoeng Gyun Choe⁸, Eun Joo Lee⁹, Chi-Hyun Choi¹⁰, Minyoung Sim¹¹, Eun-Seung Yu¹², Jong-Woo Paik¹³, Hye Yoon Park³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anthropology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Nursing Science, Sungshin Women's University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, National Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁷ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Capital Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
⁸ Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁹ Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
¹⁰ Department of Psychiatry, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
¹¹ National Center for Disaster and Trauma, National Center for Mental Health, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
¹² Department of Counseling Psychology, The Cyber University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry, Kyung Hee University Hospital, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background: The stigma associated with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is relatively neglected in policies for handling the disease. Stigmatization occurs only within specific social contexts in local societies.

Objective: This study aims to examine COVID-19 survivors' experiences of social stigma and discrimination in South Korea in the first 2 years of the pandemic.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted.

Results: Of 52 participants, 45 reported that they had to cope with stigma and discrimination in their intimate social relationships, workplaces, and children's schools, ranging from subtle actions to job loss. Sexual minorities who were involved in mass disease transmission in the early part of the pandemic experienced a higher level of stigmatization. The stigmatization dealt with in this study was related to two themes: survivors' sense of causing trouble and possibility of transmission.

Conclusion: By intertwining this stigma with the experiences of public health measures through the voices of survivors, this study reveals the local context of East Asia in terms of culture-specific aspects of COVID-19-related stigma.

Keywords: COVID-19; South Korea; emerging infectious disease; pandemic; psychosocial distress; stigma.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by a grant from the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health Welfare, South Korea (Grant Number: HC20C0013).