SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – As social creatures, how are we supposed to stay in touch, without touching? Physical interaction is still something we as human beings year for even in the time of online dating and Zoom calls, but as the world continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, that has just been impossible to do.
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Open Hands, a non-government organization in Korea, is teaching people how to keep socializing while remaining distant in the simplest way possible: by tapping renowned creative solutionist Thomas Hong-tack Kim to create visuals that will tell people how far apart they should be from each other when outside. The result is a set of illustrations done by artist BoBae Lee.
“Social distancing has become a buzzword amid the COVID-19 outbreak, but the term is not an adequate reflection of what it really means to stay safe. Physical distancing would be a better option. So, we suggested some great ways to maintain social connections while keeping six feet apart: taking fun photos on the seesaw, toasting each other remotely on the bench, chatting while hula hooping with a friend, and sharing a happy moment while walking our dogs. We hope to raise awareness of smart, entertaining ways to survive this crisis together,” shared the founder of 2kg, a creative solutions lab.
And the visuals he created together with illustrator BoBae Lee did just that. While it’s hard to “guesstimate” how much space should be left between two people to keep the virus from spreading any further, the illustrations do help people imagine just how much that space is supposed to look like; an especially helpful tool for countries like Korea where quarantine measures didn’t include a lockdown.
The campaign is called “Physically Apart, Socially connected” and was submitted to the United Nations Global Call Out To Creatives to help stop the spread of COVID 19.
