Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

""In his book, Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea: Policy Learning Perspectives, Kilkon Ko provides a thoughtful, well-documented analysis of how South Korea, as a democratic country, managed the COVID-19 pandemic using a flexible, informed strategy that relied largely on voluntary cooperation with an informed civil society instead of mandatory, hierarchical controls. This is a powerful analysis that presents insights gained from South Korea’s responsible management of this global threat that will inform other nations in other global threats that will surely come."" Louise K. Comfort, Professor Emerita and former Director of the Center for Disaster Management, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA ""In the field of disaster management, the current COVID-19 pandemic has now become a central research theme covering its origins, causes, and remedial strategies. This book systematically covers the widely discussed control mechanisms (e.g., border control, social distancing, and lockdown), explains relevant theoretical approaches, highlights the use of government-citizen interaction and civil society in South Korea, and emphasizes the retention of pandemic-management lessons for facing similar future challenges. This is a very useful book to offer empirically supported arguments and research guidelines for academics and policy makers."" M. Shamsul Haque, National University of Singapore, Singapore ""The book uses several perspectives, theories, and frameworks from emergency and crisis management in examining Korea’s successful response to COVID-19. Several frameworks were utilized because of the complexity of the COVID-19 response by the government as well as partnership with other stakeholders and members of society. The book highlights collaborative governance, transparent risk communication, and effective lessons learned from MERS experience as core success factors in response. The book is an important resource for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers."" Naim Kapucu, School of Public Administration & School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, University of Central Florida (UCF), USA