In a photo taken on November 18, 2020 a worker from Thailand loads cabbages onto a truck during a harvest at a cabbage farm near Mokpo. Originally a means of preserving the vegetable during winter, kimchi is emblematic of Korean cuisine and accompanies almost every meal served in the country, whatever its culinary origins, with kimchi-making still an important annual ritual for many families. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





In a photo taken on November 18, 2020 a worker picks cabbages during a harvest at a cabbage farm near Mokpo. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





In photo taken on November 29, 2020 relatives of Lee Young-ja collect cabbages behind her apartment to make kimchi, a traditional communal process known as “kimjang”, at her home in the eastern port city of Donghae. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





In photo taken on November 29, 2020 friends of Lee Young-ja make kimchi, a traditional communal process known as “kimjang”, at her home in the eastern port city of Donghae. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





A medical worker wearing protective gear speaks as people wait in queue during testing for COVID-19 at a coronavirus testing center in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, December 12, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





In photo taken on November 29, 2020 friends of Lee Young-ja prepare cabbages to make kimchi, during a traditional communal process known as “kimjang”, at her home in the eastern port city of Donghae. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





A man wearing a face mask walks down steps before an inflatable bear outside the Sejong theatre in central Seoul on December 10, 2020. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)





A resident wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus walks a dog through snow in Goyang, South Korea, Sunday, December 13, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





A woman wearing a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus takes a picture of a lion statue with a face mask at a park in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, December 11, 2020. South Korea is expanding the use of rapid tests and deploying hundreds of police officers and soldiers to help with contact tracing as it deals with its worst surge of coronavirus cases since the early days of the pandemic. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





A medical worker keeps warm inside a booth as she prepares to conduct a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a testing site in Seoul, South Korea, December 13, 2020. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





People wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus exercise at a park at a park in Goyang, South Korea, Friday, December 4, 2020. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Friday that 600 of the newly confirmed patients were domestically transmitted cases – nearly 80% of them in the densely populous Seoul area, which has been at the center of a recent viral resurgence. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





Non-regular workers in protest are clashing with police near the Yeouido National Assembly urge the enactment of the serious disaster enterprise punishment law on December 14, 2020 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Sanghwan Jung/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





An employee dressed in a Santa Claus costume plays with cats at the Catgarden in Seoul, South Korea, December 14, 2020. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





People queue in line to wait for coronavirus testing while maintaining social distancing at Seoul Plaza in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, December 18, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





Medical workers wearing protective gears in the sub-zero temperatures talk at coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, December 21, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)





Empty ticket lines are seen at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, December 7, 2020. South Korea's health minister said Monday that the Seoul metropolitan area is now a “COVID-19 war zone”, as the country reported another 615 new infections and the virus appeared to be spreading faster. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)





A South Korean soldier undergoes a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a coronavirus testing site which is temporarily set up at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, December 15, 2020. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)





Protesters lie down on the road to oppose the release of Cho Doo-soon in front of a prison in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, December 12, 2020. Angry protesters threw eggs and shouted insults as Cho, one of South Korea's most notorious child predators, was released from a prison in southern Seoul on Saturday at the end of a 12-year term. The signs read: “Let's castrate Cho Doo-soon”. (Photo by Yun Dong-jin/Yonhap via AP Photo)





Volunteers wearing face masks wave after they load boxes onto a delivery truck during an event to send Christmas gifts for the underprivileged in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, December 22, 2020. The Korea Youth Foundation sent Christmas gifts using a courier to help prevent against the coronavirus as the social distancing measures. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)