Daegu Teen Shares Her COVID-19 Survival Story After Running Into a “Shincheonji Cult” Believer

A Daegu teenager who was infected with COVID-19 shared her recovery story with Hankook Ilbo after running into a “Shincheonji cult” believer in the streets.

The young 18-year-old woman, Ms. Kim expressed, “It was so painful that I couldn’t move, but thanks to the help of medical professionals, I was able to overcome it.”

Ms. Kim revealed that she was infected with COVID-19 after she shared a 10-minute conversation with a believer of Shincheonji at a subway station in Daegu.

I ran into a Shincheonji believer at the subway on February 20, and she wouldn’t let me go, so I ended up talking to her for 10 minutes with my mask off. I later found out she was infected. When I got tested, my results came out positive. I never imagined I could get infected in such a short amount of time.

– Ms. Kim

Ms. Kim started showing symptoms on the 5th and reached its peak on the 7th. As a result, she self-isolated herself at home until the 9th when it was possible to start treatment.

Ms. Kim shared the details of her experience at the time as well as where her family stood in the process.

When I was in self-isolation, my family left my food outside my room door. Whenever I used the washroom, I sprayed it with the disinfectant the hospital gave me. My dishes and laundry had to be done separately. As for the health center, they called multiple times a day to check up on my mask inventory, my health status, and food inventory. They told me to call them anytime, even in the middle of the night, if I see any more symptoms.

– Ms. Kim

Despite being a young patient with a relatively minor infection, Ms. Kim endured excruciating which made it hard for her to breathe.

I had a fever that made me drenched in sweat. It was hard for me to breathe at night. When that happened, I took tylenol. When I breathed in, it felt like my lungs were ripping apart, and when I coughed, it felt like I’d choke on my own phlem. I continuosly had stomache pains, and I was so tired afterward that I couldn’t move for hours afterward. When it was really bad, the stomache pain lasted 3 days straight. When that happened, I couldn’t even step out of my room.

– Ms. Kim

Considering her own experience, Ms. Kim expressed her worry for other patients who are either older or have underlying conditions.

I feel like for patients who are older with underlying conditions, it must be really, really hard.

– Ms. Kim

Luckily, Ms. Kim woke up 10 days later on the 13th to find that all of her symptoms were gone.

My symptoms were suddenly all gone. The test results said I was recovered. I was so happy I cried. It only hit me once I came out of the facility and walked around outside.

– Ms. Kim

Ms. Kim concluded her story by thanking the medical professionals for helping her in such a warm manner despite the spike in COVID-19 numbers at the time due to Shincheonji.

I was able to endure the pain thanks to my family and medical professionals. No one blamed me for being infected. I’m really thankful to the medical professionals for being so warm despite there being so many cases and hardships around that time in Daegu. I don’t want anyone to get infected with this. Please treat the infected patients with warmth.

– Ms. Kim