Health & Well-Being, Seoul

It's said that South Koreans throw out more food than North Koreans have to eat...and I believe it. Since all meals have 3-7 side dishes and restaurants have strict rules to throw out the leftovers, it seems, this waste really piles up. Hint: don't ever be downwind of a kimchi garbage container in August! (I guess this is my warning to you.)

All in all, Seoul is a pretty clean place--thanks to the tireless efforts of the many old men who comb through the garbage everyday. They take recycleables away and leave just the 'pure' trash for the garbage trucks in the morning. %L{http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/tp/ccfe6/[The Yeouido Full Gospel Church even has a fundraising campaign where churchgoers bring their cardboard and recycleables to the church (in a massive heap every Sunday, as you could imagine 7 crowds of over 20,000 people could amass).

However, Seoul still had tons (13,500 a day, in fact) of garbage that needs to go somewhere. Sky Park in Mapo-Gu near the World Cup Stadium is an example of that...it is actually a trash heap. The city covered it with grass, planted some trees on it, erected windmills for some sort of power generation, and called it an eco-friendly park.

It's a fact that Seoul has twice the amount of particles (particles of what? I assume it's not healthy stuff) than that of New York--or any other developed country city. (Korea, I believe, has just been upgraded to developed country status.)

If you have athsma or other such conditions do not come here in the summer. Also, in the Spring (especially May) there is "Yellow Wind". This toxic breeze comes from the Gobi desert where it is pretty tame stuff--but after flying over the moist West Sea it grows fungus and bacteria in its clouds and by the time it gets to Seoul it could be dangerous for kids and old folks. (This is one reason why some kids sport the Hello Kitty face masks.) I haven't noticed anything, and I see people jogging in it, but when the wind is at its worst the city gets a bombed-out look to it (haze and fewer people in the streets).

The biggest problem, though, is the cars. The number of cars in Seoul has tripled in just ten years (that's 11.76% per year, for us math geeks). The fumes from people's driving habits (see tip on Couples Parking in Local Customs) has prompted the city to issue stickers to drivers that show what weekday they cannot drive to work. (I think the taxi drivers lobbied for this one.) I truly don't understand why people drive anyways, the subways are great and busses and cabs are all over the place...but then, I live almost right next to work.

The pollution also affects kids or those susceptible to skin irritation. Kids get atrophy (it's so common there are many TV shows about it on Korean news) which is a drying and kind of scaling of the skin...use moisturizer (maybe this is why they are pushing men's moisturizers here, who knows).

For those readers who may be abstaining from alcohol I'd like to say: good luck! Korea is a drinking country. They consume over FOUR BILLION (285 ml) bottles of soju here a year (that's over 1.5 per week for every man, woman and child!). Most business deals and social gatherings involve drinking (sometimes to extreme excess) so no matter where you go you will be exposed to copious amounts of liquor and likely be pressured to drink (a lot).

You can get over this, though. Koreans are, by nature, respectful to principled people--and foreigners are seen as abidign by a different set of rules as it is. If you say that you cannot or will not drink then they will likely accept this and respect your decision (if they don't then they aren't very good to be around in any case).

The site below has a list of meetings in Seoul and elsewhere...some have very good directions. I imagine the meetings are in English, so there should be none of that famous language barrier we know so well.

Be careful of smiling kids, weilding M-16 assault rifles and AK-47's running around corners, or hiding begind bushes. Because you could get caught in their crossfire and end up getting shot.

It hurts I tell you. I am alive to tell the story. Why? Because when I got shot, the projectile that hit me was not a fast moving metal bullet but a small plastic ball. Still they leave the gun very quickly, and they can cause a welt. Quite dangerous.

something that might annoy you is the extremely drity air. Everytime i walk along a main street my nosie is burning and at the end of the day my throat is in pain. To add to that I am here during the yellow sand storm. If you don't know what that is it's a strong wind that starts in siberia and sweeps across the Gobi in northren China and picks up the sand. The wind crosses through Bejing and takes all there pollution and it travels over the yellow sea and then passes it in to seoul.

This normaly happens in march, and April. You can't see the sand but it's there.You will feel your eyes get sore when it's really windy out. It's also why you will see alot of people during that time wearing masks.

4 more images

Seoul has a very bad pollution problem that causes many visitors and residents to experience health problems. The smog is worst in the summer months, when many locals wear masks over their noses & mouths. Living in Seoul, it is very difficult to keep your house clean with this fine black dust settles over every flat surface!

To make matters worse, each year in March and April, sandstorms from Mongolia blow into Seoul reducing visibility tremendously.

In 2013, I returned to Seoul in late April/early May, and the smog was barely noticeable. I believe there has been a significant improvement.

Seoul has some of the worst air pollution in the world. This will not be apparent in many of my pictures (or in tourist brochure photos) because most pictures are taken on the few clear days. But in general, Seoul is often blanketed with a thick, choking haze. It is said that breathing Seoul's air is the equivelent of smoking two cigarettes a day.

I felt very safe in Seoul. Living in San Francisco I learned to keep and eye on my surroundings. I think I started to get too comfortable in Seoul. It was a nice feeling though. I also noticed how polite people were on the subway and other public places. No one talking loud on the cell phone or being rude.

When I first started visiting Seoul, I always brought Immodium. I still bring it, but now I only need it if I eat the food from street vendors. If you have a sensitive digestive tract, you should avoid this unhygenic food.

Seoul and Korea in general is really safe. I think that the safest country I ever been. You can walk in downtown late at night without any problem. I never felt unsafe anywhere in Korea. The crime there is very low which is very nice.