Winter, Winter, Cold and Ice!

Korea has four distinct seasons. That’s why it’s such a great country, I was told in school. I now know better than to believe this “untruth” and wish that we could have the samo-samo weather all year round. At the peak of summer in the capital city of Seoul, the temperature exceeds 30 °C (86 °F) and in the dead of winter, -10 °C (14 °F). That is a very wide temperature range in one year.

So every summer I worry about struggling against sweltering heat and every winter, harsh cold waves. Installing impenetrable triple-ply window panes and cranking up the heat to 29 degrees can solve all my problems, but the sad fact is that I’m just a humble commoner. My small abode has thin windows that tremble when north winds blow in. And with electric and gas bills on a steep rise, I need to be quite resourceful when extreme temperatures hit.

In November, I lay out the electric blanket on the bed. Except for the icy tip of my nose, I’m warm and toasty inside my bed as I reassure myself with a tidbit of health knowledge: keep your feet warm and your head cool. Yes, I’m ready for the winter with a warm, impassioned heart and a cool, rational mind. Woefully, I can’t spend all day in bed, and for the times I spend outside of it, I rely on thermal underwear that raises my body temperature by three to six degrees. That helps me to delay turning on the heat as long as possible.

Come December, however, I don’t have a choice but to turn on the heat. It’s also the time when bubble wrap and draft stoppers make an entrance. Bubble wrap, informally dubbed pokpogi and more formally called “air cap” in Korea, is made solely for window insulation purposes these days and can raise the indoor temperature by two or three degrees. Draft stoppers, which are used underneath doors and on window frames, were traditionally made from paper but now come in foam or vinyl material. These stoppers are my first line of defense, a real stumbling “block” for cold drafts trying to sneak their way into my home.

This year, I’m thinking about investing in a newfangled item, one that has rave reviews flooding internet mom cafes every winter: an insulated tent. The perplexing name had me guessing as to its true meaning. But there’s no meaning. It’s a tent. Like the kind you take to go camping. A tent made from special insulating and moisture-controlling material that traps in heat and maintains moisture, perfect for battling Korea’s dry, cold winters … indoors! And it even comes with mattress straps for pitching it on top of your bed.

I’d like to suggest one more thing for anyone planning to visit Korea in winter — a long puffer jacket. Zip it up and pull on the hood to become one of the near-native expats. And don’t forget thermal underwear. It’s attention to what’s not in plain sight that gives you a bona fide experience of surviving a winter in Korea.

Translator: Culture Flipper English Team
Original Content in Korean: cultureflipper.com/blog/winter-winter-cold-and-ice-ko