There has been a new kind of mask created in South Korea that has created a lot of questions in the market. This unique face mask only hides the nose of the person wearing it. The western press has been questioning it quite ruthlessly.
It is being called ‘kosk” which is a combination of ‘ko’, the Korean word for nose, and ‘mask.’ This face mask is sold by the South Korean company Atman. It comprises two parts, one of which can be removed to leave the wearer’s mouth exposed. They are seemingly designed to provide some level of protection against Covid while eating but can also be worn in nose-only mode at any time. Kosk is just one of the nose-only face masks available in South Korea these days, and the unusual trend has given birth to some controversy in the western world, with many declaring the facial accessories entirely useless.
“No different to the people who wear their masks below their nose,” one Twitter user reacted to the kosk face mask.
“Next level of stupidity,” someone else commented.
To back up this mask, the studies have shown that the nose is the easiest route for the coronavirus to enter the human body, and some health experts believe that nose-only masks are better than not wearing a face mask at all.
“It probably makes a marginal difference,” Professor Catherine Bennett, Chair in Epidemiology within Deakin’s Institute for Health Transformation, commented, adding that it was still a “strange idea”.
The kosk might not be popular among the people in the west but in Korea, it has a 5-star rating from 118 reviews on the South Korean shopping platform Coupang, where a pack of 10 masks sells for 9,800 won ($8.20).
A similar mask from Spar Clone Fabric costs 2,000 won ($1.65 ) for a set of three, which can be reused many times.