How bad is the pollution in Seoul?

Here's the question:

In your personal opinion, how bad is the air pollution in Seoul? Sometimes I wonder if the pollution is overblown by expats from Canada or other areas where pollution is minimal. I am from a fairly large metropolitan area (Philly/Baltimore/DC)and just hope that some of these on-line opinions I read are just overblown compared to other areas that are quite polluted.

I like this question because it asks for my personal opinion. Seoul isn't particularly clean, but it is improving. The comments you read online could come from genuine posters or runners, bikers and other outdoor sports enthusiasts, but from experience on my ESL Teacher group over on Facebook, most of the comments are from expats and teachers who like to bash Seoul and Seoulites.

I remember reading about how I would become asthmatic after a few months in Seoul and would be ill most of the time. Not only have I not developed asthma, but I also am ill about a fraction of the amount I was in the US. You should ignore most comments and just look at the facts. Seoul is not on any "Most Polluted" lists that I can find. Seoul does not have factories or any other industry which produces a lot of air pollution. Seoul simply has too many damn drivers. If you're a little more into stats and comparative studies then perhaps a Google search would be best. You'll find all you need to know about the current state of air quality and pollution in Seoul. This picture, however, is something that I have never seen in Seoul.



I know a few cyclists who really had a hard time getting in a solid exercise out of fear of inhaling exhaust and fumes. Seoul has an excellent public transportation system, but still has way too many cars. They're trying to get people to ride bikes more and even have an alternating-day driving program to reduce congestion and pollution, but the smog can get pretty thick on hot summer days.

If you live in a busy city-center, then expect some pollution, but Seoul is not significantly worse than other major world cities. In fact, Seoul has less particulate matter in the air than Busan and Daegu. You mentioned that you're from the DC area and from what I can tell, DC produces more air pollution than Seoul. The time of year also must be considered. Of course, you'll be in Korea for a minimum of a year, but since the winter months experience the greatest increase in pollution, the cold weather usually deters people from spending extended amounts of time on the streets.

I guess the main point is that pollution is a problem of course, but it depends on your lifestyle as to whether or not you let it become an issue for you. If you are a runner, then I suggest you get up early in the morning and beat the cars. If you are a cyclist, then stick to some of the rural trails. If you love the smell of grass and trees, then perhaps Seoul shouldn't be on your list. You are a gym dude, then it won't be a problem. And don't forget that you can always go the mask route...



Anybody developed any illnesses or conditions as a result of the pollution?

Volleyball and Other Sports Facilities in Seoul

Here's the question:

Where's a good place to play volleyball in Seoul?

Joshua

Sports, huh? Not my strong point, but I can help.

While it certainly appears to be a concrete jungle, there are a lot of sports facilities dispersed all around Seoul. You can find a basketball goal or a soccer field at just about every school in town and there are also dozens of non-Hangang parks that offer such facilities. However, it seems that the greatest concentration of sports facilities are located around the Han River in designated riverside green areas called Hangang Riverside Park.




The Hangang parks are hit or miss. Sometimes you can go there and no one will be on the field or court, but other times they might be booked for weeks ahead of time. For volleyball you can head to Gwangnaru, Jamsil, Jamwon, Banpo, Ichon, Yeouido, Yanghwa, Mangwon, Nanji. They all have some sort of facilities that should be okay for what you're looking for. I can't say which one is the best though. Korea hosted the third leg of the Women’s Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2008, so I can only assume that some of the courts are decent. They've invested a lot of dough in it as well.

If you're looking for indoor volleyball, then it might be a little harder. Like many baseball fields and basketball courts, it will require reserving a court for several months and paying a pretty hefty fee. Of course, that fee would be reduced if you got a big group together and split it, but then you have to deal with the issue of getting a big enough group together.

As I said, I'm not the biggest exercises guy, but I don't mind getting out there every once in awhile if there's the promise of a little barbecue and beer afterwards. I've never seen a shortage of places to enjoy the day and get in a little something for your health, so I good luck and happy hunting.

If your in the mood for some other sports and recreation facilities, check out this site.

Contributer and expat extrondinare, OpenMicah says...

For any public school or university teachers out there, one thing I would say is to check with the faculty at your school. Usually public schools have inter-school volleyball leagues some time in the fall, and teachers from one school usually play teachers from another school. I bet the teachers who play on your school volleyball team (especially the men) play occasionally with their buddies somewhere else out side of school and wouldn't mind you coming along.

I also would check with any foreigner or Korean friends you know working for a Korean company. They might actually have a company volleyball team that rents out a court once a week for a few hours. I had a friend working at a company, and all the guys in the office played basketball once a week on a rented court. He invited me and I split the cost with them. With 20 guys, it was only 20,000W a month. It wasn't competitive play or anything, but it was probably the only cheap way to play sports indoors. In the winter, especially.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment.

South Korea Weather and the "Four Distinct Seasons"

Here's the question:

What's the weather like in Korea? All the travel books say that it's the same as Washington DC (I'm from Baltimore) and the seasons are about the same as well. What's the monsoon season like?

Daniel

As I was reading the question I was really hoping that a "four distinct seasons" line would be in there, but I assume the season's comment was a reference to that. As most people do before coming to Korea, purchasing a travel book is always a good idea. And when you start reading it, an absurb fact that has been mocked over and over again for years and years among the expat community is revealed: KOREA HAS FOUR DISTINCT SEASONS. Despite that there is nothing unique about this weather pattern, Korea seems to like push the line. New K-Blog, Dong Chim, takes a nice shot at the claim here.

Unlike those guide books and even the graph to the right, I would say that Korea (or at least the northern regions) has closer to two seasons. The summers are long, wet and hot and the winters are long, cold and dry. Spring and fall are essentially short transitional seasons that experience very unsteady and drastic temperature changes. This winter, for instance, was very long. It started to get really cold last October and was still near freezing this April. In fact, according to Gangwon Notes, it snowed on April 26th in Gangwon-do. Last May, I went camping just north of the Han river and it was literally below freezing at night.

However, you can escape the weather in the north simply by heading south. I might be partial since I had an amazing trip the south last weekend, but Jeollanam-do is really beautiful and the weather seems to be more steady as well as all the other southern islands and cities like Busan, Daegu and, of course, Jeju. That's not to say they don't get cold, they do, but really anywhere in the Gyeongsangnam-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do usually experience warmer weather. Or since you're an American, I'll put it this way: If you live in northern South Korea, then expect Midwestern US weather (Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Missouri etc...). If you decide to stick to the south, you can expect southern US weather (Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina etc...)

The monsoon season can be bad and it has been known to flood some regions south of Seoul, but for the most part it just means a wet walk to work for about two or three weeks in July or maybe August. In my opinion, like the Yellow Dust issue, the monsoon season tends to be greatly exaggerated.

I'd say that it's nothing that you should be concerned about. Just read the averages and pack well.

If anybody has any questions, just send me an email at asktheexpat@yahoo.com or leave a comment.