Buddhist believers wearing faces masks to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus wait to attend a service to pray for overcoming the COVID-19 outbreak and to celebrate Buddha's birthday at the Chogyesa temple in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 30, 2020. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect against the spread of the new coronavirus crosses a stream in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 15, 2020. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)

Firefighters take part in the bodybuilding event during a firefighting skills contest at the National Fire Service Academy in Gongju, South Korea on June 13, 2023. (Phoot by Yonhap/EPA)

A woman walks past as South Korean soldiers participate in an anti-chemical and anti-terror exercise as part of the 2023 Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) at subway station on August 22, 2023 in Seoul, South Korea. The 11-day exercise, which features drills including the handling of chemical and biological attacks, is a regular joint exercise between U.S. and South Korean troops. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

A woman wearing a traditional Hanbok dress visits the Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds in Seoul on October 23, 2023. A woldae terrace for public rituals and ceremonies in front of Gyeongbok Palace’s Gwanghwamun gate was restored and opened to the public earlier this month, after being removed in 1923, during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial period. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)

A South Korea university student gets her head shaved during a protest against Japan's decision to release contaminated water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea, in front of the Japanese embassy, in Seoul, South Korea, April 20, 2021. (Photo by Kim Hong-ji/Reuters)

A street vendor sells Dalgona candy from the Korean Netflix series “Squid Game” at a Dalgona shop in Seoul, South Korea, October 1, 2021. (Photo by Heo Ran/Reuters)

Participants prepare kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of spicy fermented cabbage and radish, during a kimchi making festival at the Jogyesa Buddhist temple in Seoul on December 2, 2021, before it is distributed among the less privileged from the local neighbourhood. (Photo by Anthony Wallace/AFP Photo)