ISA has been closely following developments related to political and civil unrest in Peru after the impeachment and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo on December 7th. Protests have resulted in airport closures, train cancellations, and road closures. On December 14, a 30-day State of Emergency was announced.

ISA continues to regularly review reports from our locally-based resident staff in Lima and Cusco, the US Department of State, and our private security advisors. In Cusco, the airport has reopened, and the ISA resident staff have reported that while regional demonstrations and strikes are still occurring, the situation in the city of Cusco is calm and businesses are operating normally. At this time, we do not anticipate any schedule changes to our Spring 2023 program in Cusco, which is scheduled to begin on January 27th. ISA will continue to monitor the situation very closely and provide students and our partner universities with updates accordingly.

Late on Saturday, October 29th, a fatal crowd surge occurred during Halloween celebrations in the Itaewon district of Seoul. Emergency responders were called to the scene and rescue operations are ongoing. The cause of the surge is currently unknown.

The TEAN/ISA Seoul resident staff have messaged all students to avoid the area and remind them of emergency numbers. Students have been asked to check in with the resident staff as well as their families back home to confirm their safety. We will continue to monitor this situation and update this alert accordingly.