PHOTOS Hold your breath
Seoul's downtown area is shrouded in haze on Sunday as the density of airborne dust reached a “bad” level. The hazardous dust storm took hold of the entire Korean Peninsula throughout the weekend. Yonhap
By Park Si-soo
It is uncertain when the tragedy began and what is exactly to blame. But it is certain that now there are no people in Korea who take inhalation of clear air for granted.
Wearing a dust mask has become something of a “mandatory ritual” before stepping out of home, as is checking a smartphone app showing the density of outdoor ultrafine dust blown in from where nobody demonstrates with a sense of certainty ― from China, Korea itself or somewhere else?
After all, people are crying out against an endless flow of dirty air, and are also frustrated by the government's helplessness.
“If we die now, it would be more realistic to blame it on dirty air, rather than a nuclear weapon over my head (in North Korea),” a cynical Seoul citizen said.
When will clean air return? Does it still exist on Earth anyway?
Apartments in Sejong City are obscured, Sunday. Yonhap
People look down on Seoul's downtown area covered with a thick haze of fine-dust particles. Yonhap
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