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Spatiotemporal Evolution and the Diffusion Pattern of COVID-19 in South Korea in Three Waves

Lee, Jin Hui 1 Park,Min Sook 2 LEE SANG WON 3

1국토연구원
2위스콘신-밀워키 대학교
3연세대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This study aims to uncover cross-district transmission patterns of COVID-19 outbreaks in South Korea in three waves. To this end, a total of 93,755 reported cases that local governments published online were firstly mapped and analyzed the spatial diffusion patterns using ArcMap 10.5. Secondly, network analyses method was employed to discover the directions of transmission as well as the relationships between urban hierarchy and transmission patterns of the virus in three waves. In network analysis, 28,365 cases, that contain information of both origin and destination of individual cases, were analyzed and visualized using Gephi. The analyses unveiled the differences among three outbreak waves in their transmission scales, speed, and directions. At an overall level, the Seoul Metropolitan Areas (SMA) found to be the super-spreader and instrumental in spreading the virus throughout the pandemic. But the second and third waves were more diverse and heterogeneous while the transmission of the first wave was concentrated around the SMA. Districts with over 1 million population found to have contributed to widespread and rapid transmission of the virus. The findings of this study contribute to developing and deploying area-specific prevention and intervention measures against future epidemics.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.