Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Koreans’ love-hate relationship with ‘first snow’: Romance, wishes, military hardships
People enjoy the first snow of the year in Gwanghwamun Square, taking selfies with their mobile phones in Seoul, Thursday, as the first snow of the season fell in the Seoul area. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
Season’s first snowflakes bring wishes, K-pop ballads, memories of endless shoveling
Koreans greeted this year’s first snowfall on Thursday with a mix of delight and dread, as "cheotnun," or the first snow of the season, has come to symbolize both romance and hardship.
Heavy snow blanketed Seoul and surrounding regions through the evening, turning commutes into major ordeals, while couples and families ventured outdoors to take photos and enjoy the special moment.
Central regions, including the capital area, witnessed unusually heavy snowfall, with several centimeters accumulating on roads and sidewalks during rush hour. Authorities issued advisories about icy roads and urged drivers to slow down, as congestion on the roads worsened through the night.
People cross the street as snow falls on a street in Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. The heavy snow warning for Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces took effect earlier in the day. Newsis
At the same time, the first snow has come to mark an annual cultural occasion.
K-pop group EXO’s winter ballad "First Snow," released in 2013, has once again surged on major streaming charts, as listeners pair its nostalgic melancholy with scenes of snow-covered streets. The boy band even uploaded a "First Snow challenge" video on their social media, dancing to the song wearing Christmas accessories.
In Korean pop culture, the first snow of the season has long been framed as a pivotal or special moment. In the 2003 film "Classic" and the 2016 drama series "Goblin," sudden snowfall often marks a turning point for lovers, cementing the first snow in the public imagination as a symbol of confession and reunion. A widely cited Korean saying holds that if you see the first snow of the season with someone you like, your love will come true.
For many young Koreans, this sentiment still feels very real.
Lee Ji-hyun, a 27-year-old office worker living in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, said she had already planned a date and the weather made it extra special.
"Because the dinner happened to be on the day of the first snow of the season, I felt more excited and happier," she said. After eating, the couple walked together in the snow. "It was actually hard to walk because there was so much snow, but I think that made the evening even more memorable."
A couple walks under an umbrella on a snowy street in Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. Newsis
In Seoul’s Huam-dong neighborhood, 33-year-old office worker Shin In-seon first saw the snow while taking a crowded bus home.
"I saw these college couples stuck close together in the bus, taking pictures out of the window, and I felt a bit jealous, to be honest," she said.
She was also messaging a friend visiting from a warm country. "My friend said it was the first time walking in so much snow and she loved it," Shin said. "I don’t usually get that emotional over snow, but seeing other people enjoy it made me excited, too." She ended the night with a hot soup at home and did a tabata workout indoors.
For many Korean men, however, the season’s first snow is far less romantic. Several recalled their early years of adulthood, marked by endless shoveling during compulsory military service.
Chae Min-seok, 32, described snow in the armed forces as "basic work," explaining that every unit had to clear it away to keep vehicles, runways and bases safe and operational. He recalled being sent out repeatedly in winter to remove snow during limited rest hours with inadequate equipment, saying the experience left him with "not very good feelings" about snow in general — even to this day.
"Of course, there are times when seeing snow puts me in a good mood," he said. "But that only applies when my girlfriend is next to me, or it’s literally the very first snow of the year or if I’m on my way to a travel destination, so it doesn’t affect things like my commute at all," he said.
Kim Jae-sung, 30, who served in Gangwon Province a decade ago — one of Korea’s snowiest regions — also said his unit was mobilized for hourslong "snow removal operations" whenever snow began to pile up, at any time of the day or night.
He remembered joking with fellow soldiers that snow was "white trash falling from the sky" that had to be cleared away, a phrase still commonly used and one that continues to color his view today. This year, he spent his first snowy night outside his house in Seoul, shoveling the path and staircase and carving out a safe walkway.
Officials clear snow at Jangchung Gymnasium in Jung District, Seoul, Thursday. Newsis
For older workers with families, the season's first snow sits somewhere between nostalgia and concern. Oh Seung-hyun, 36, a Suwon-based office worker and father of a 2-year-old, said he believes Koreans like the first snow "because of the mood it creates."
"In reality, there’s nothing very good about it. You have to remove the snow, cars slide and crash and traffic jams happen. As a safety manager, I worry about workplaces — snow is heavy and things can collapse," he said.
Still, he said that pop culture has given the season’s first snow a lasting appeal. "Movies, dramas and comics — all those scenes of soft white snow piling up make people’s hearts flutter."
He now experiences it differently than in his younger days. "Back in college, if it snowed, my friends and I would go out drinking. Now that we’re all working and have families, we just send messages. Some still joke that white trash is falling from the sky, and ask each other, 'Be careful when driving.'"