Korea University (KU) has issued new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) guidelines regarding school protocol in the upcoming spring semester. The announcement addresses contingencies such as the precipitous outbreak of the Omicron variant and international students being stranded overseas due to governmental travel restrictions.

When an individual is infected, offline classes would continue with the infected being provided online options for participation. When more than 30 percent of students are infected, in-person classes may be switched to online classes. Classes will be put on stop to be alternated with substitutive courses when more than half of its students are infected.

All classes, excluding exceptions such as lab courses, practical trainings, and exams, are to be conducted online when 10 percent of all KU’s people (about 3,600 people) are infected.

Regarding the distress of international students unable to acquire visas, the new protocol responds by setting the first two weeks of the spring semester as a buffer period where classes may decide to operate either online or offline. It remains unclear, however, whether the South Korean government could effectively provide all internationals with student visas in the above period.