A young South Korean couple and dozens of guests standing together for a group photo in Seoul on June 6, 2015. The young South Korean couple became an unexpected symbol of the MERS health scare sweeping the nation after a different photo of the same group showing the couple and guests jokingly posed wearing surgical masks went viral.
Sewing for the Soil/AFP/Getty Images
A photo of South Korean wedding attendees wearing surgical masks to protect themselves from the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) went viral this week. It turns out the photo was a joke, but it remains a symbol of how much fear of the disease has grown.
The photo, which was taken at a wedding on Saturday in Seoul, spread quickly on social media. A wedding planner told the Agence France-Press that the attendees had spent the duration of the ceremony without masks, and they never wanted the posed mask photo to be taken seriously.
MERS, which has no known cure, has killed nine people and left more than 2,800 quarantined in South Korea.
Read next: Here’s the Difference Between MERS and Ebola
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.
Listen to the most important stories of the day.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Donald Trump Was Just Indicted. Here's What to Know About the Charges and the Case
- What Could Happen Next for Donald Trump
- Trump's Indictment Drama Showcased His Rivals' Weakness
- Inside Ukraine's Push to Try Putin For War Crimes
- Bad Bunny's Next Move
- Elon Musk Signs Open Letter Urging AI Labs to Pump the Brakes
- Eliezer Yudkowsky: Pausing AI Developments Isn't Enough. We Need to Shut it All Down
- 'How Is This Still Happening?' A Survivor Questions America's Gun Violence Problem
- Cheryl Strayed Will Always Be Here for You
- Who Should Be on the 2023 TIME100? Vote Now
