Herp Derp Korea!: The weather and what it brings along

When I arrived in Incheon airport back in august, compared to the danish weather, the heat was almost unbearable. Coming from a country with an average of 20 degrees Celsius during the summer and 1-2 degrees during the winter, this change was particularly noticeable.

The summer in Korea varies depending on region, but in Seoul and the surrounding areas, the temperature during day time was usually hovering at about 30 degrees Celsius every day. During the night time it could come close to plus 25 degrees. I must admit that I to some extent was pretty annoyed about the heat, being sweaty and having to remember to drink loads of water all the time was a hassle. It reminded me of my second trip to the states - hot, humid and a lot of sweaty t-shirts. To all you gentle people reading this, remember to bring extra pairs of shirts and shorts during the Korea summer. I only had 2 pairs, and that was no way near enough.

The heat during the summer naturally promotes sales of cold drinks, ice cream and what ever that may follow in that category. When talking about ice cream, I should perhaps mention a popular Korean way of overcoming the heat. It is called Patbingsu (팥빙수), and is really popular in Korea. It is made by crushing ice into small pieces and putting them in the bottom of a bowl. Here after it is topped with various fruits, ddeok, red bean paste, frozen yogurt and maybe some jelly bits and cereal flakes.

http://spiritualtravels.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/coffee-prince/
Many different types of Bingsu are made, and therefore appeal to a lot of different people.

Ice cream stores do not close during winter, and from what I have noticed on the street and in class, people also continue eating it during colder times. This, compared to danish customs, may seem a bit weird since ice cream sales are seasoned in Denmark, but here it is considered somewhat normal.

There is one store near the campus with people always waiting in line to eat Patbingsu, unfortunately I have never had the experience of going there. Keep in mind that the sales of seasoned food of course diminishes, but it is never completely gone.

This was how it looked literally every day during the summer.

And this was how it looked every night during the summer.

Last week the school turned on the heaters in the class rooms. Everywhere in Korea they are very keen on saving energy by turning off automatic doors, not turning on the heaters until November, and many other things. Some also might say that they are a bit too keen on saving energy, since you have to sit with your jacket on in class to not freeze you ass off.

This morning I went out running, and my breath was visible. It was -1 degrees outside last night, and will not be warmer than 5-7 degrees from this week and onwards - from what I have heard. Compared to the gradual decrease in temperature back home in Denmark, it dropped from about 20 to 5 in just a month here in Seoul, Korea.

Talking about this morning and the weather. When I am out running, I usually take a route on the small mountain just behind campus, which brings me to hiking. Seoul is surrounded by mountains so hiking is natural thing to do, either with family or along with friends.

06:00 in the morning

Since the temperature started dropping, there has been a steady decrease in young people out hiking, but the elders stay strong, even at 06:00 in the morning. The following pictures are from this morning.