On December 24, local authorities in Daegu, South Korea, adopted the slogan "Colorful Daegu" to capture the city's "diversity, inclusiveness, vivacity, passion, and energy of progress."

Less than two months later, Daegu is at the center of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak. The largest outside China, the nation has 5,186 confirmed cases and 31 deaths as of Tuesday. Daegu is largely shut down with the mayor asking residents to remain indoors, a request that turned the bustling city into an eerily empty urban center permeated by fear.