Extreme heat exposes daily hardships of Seoul's most vulnerable

Older adult residents of the low-income neighborhood of Huimangchon in Sanggye-dong, Nowon District, Seoul, seek relief from the sweltering heat beneath a makeshift canopy, Monday. Korea Times photo by Na Min-seo

By 9 a.m. on Monday, as the day's routines were just beginning, the temperature in Seoul had already reached 30 degrees Celsius. Residents of Huimangchon, a low-income neighborhood in Sanggye-dong, Nowon District, gathered beneath a makeshift canopy to check on one another after another sweltering night.

In a community with no senior center or cooling shelter to escape the heat, sharing a cup of iced coffee each morning has become a daily ritual of confirming that everyone is still safe.

"Last night felt like sleeping inside a cauldron. When I woke up, my pillow was soaked with sweat," 73-year-old Yoon Yi-kyung said, wiping sweat from her neck with a towel while sipping iced coffee.

"Even with the canopy blocking the sun, my skin has turned dark from the heat," she added. "This summer feels especially frightening."

Yet many residents cannot afford to keep even an electric fan running all day, let alone an air conditioner, because of soaring electricity bills. After finishing work in her vegetable garden, 87-year-old Lee Geum-soon splashed water from a basin beside her washing machine onto her face. Inside her home, heavy, humid heat lingered.

"Older people have nowhere to go, and even when we're drenched in sweat, we worry about the electricity bill, so we get by with just one shower a day," she said.

Lee Geum-soon, a resident of Huimangchon in Sanggye-dong, Nowon District, Seoul, cools herself with water after tending her vegetable garden, Monday. Korea Times photo by Na Min-seo

Nearby, Cheongam Senior Center in Samyang-dong, Gangbuk District — close to the rooftop home where then-Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon famously spent a month during a 2018 heat wave — was crowded with elderly residents seeking relief from the scorching temperatures.

Lee Wan-sik, 83, and his wife, Park Seong-nam, 77, said they visit the senior center at lunch every day because they cannot freely use air conditioning at home.

"Just feeling the air conditioner gives us room to breathe," they said as they cooled off.

Another resident, 82-year-old Yoo Bong-hyun, said, "At my age, it's hard to climb the steep hills to get here. On weekends, the senior center is closed, which makes things even harder."

"If I try to sit in a neighborhood café instead, the owner gives me disapproving looks, which is very uncomfortable," he added.

Homeless people lie in the Seoul Station underpass to escape the sweltering heat, Monday. Korea Times photo by Lee Jae-myung

As the daytime temperature climbed to 33 degrees Celsius, homeless people around Seoul Station gathered in whatever shade they could find. Although some have made makeshift living spaces in underground passageways, the stagnant air makes them even more stifling and damp.

Lee, 66, who has lived around Seoul Station for the past decade, sighed.

"When it's this hot, it's too much trouble to even go to a cooling shelter. I'd rather just sit still."

Some homeless people gathered on the stairs of the underpass, drinking makgeolli (fermented rice alcohol) and soju despite the blistering heat.

One man, surnamed Kim, rolled his sleeves up to his armpits and joked, "I can't take my shirt off because people complain. When the police look over, I just pull my sleeves back down."

The Dasiseogi Comprehensive Support Center, operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, distributes ice water to homeless people three or four times a day.

"The number of people using our cooling shelter has risen to as many as 200 a day during the heat wave," a center official said. "However, people who have been drinking alcohol are not allowed inside, so many still remain outdoors."

A worker welds without using air conditioning despite the sweltering heat at a machine and metalworking shop in the Mullae-dong industrial complex in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, Monday. Korea Times photo by Gong Byeong-seon)

Others continue battling the extreme heat because they cannot afford to stop working.

At the Mullae-dong machinery and metalworking complex in Yeongdeungpo District, heat-generating machines began operating at 8 a.m.

Yang Chang-dae, 54, who runs a welding shop, worked continuously as sweat poured off him.

"It feels like wearing a welding helmet inside a sauna," he said.

"We do have an air conditioner, but we can't really use it while working because it stirs up metal dust and debris, which is even worse for our health."

Delivery riders also raced through the blistering streets. With food spoiling quickly in the heat, they have little time to cool off.

A 34-year-old rider surnamed Kim, whom reporters met near Seoul National University Station on Subway Line 2, was drenched in sweat despite wearing a cooling vest equipped with fans.

"If an order for sushi or gimbap (seaweed-wrapped rice rolls) comes from too far away, I sometimes decline it," he said. "Demand for deliveries increases when it's hot, so I just endure it and try to earn as much as I can."

Another rider, Choi Jae-kyung, 31, pointed to a cup of iced coffee on the front of his motorcycle, where the ice had already melted.

"I didn't buy it to drink," he said with a wry smile. "When it gets unbearably hot, I pour it over my arm sleeves to cool myself down."

A delivery rider checks incoming orders near Seoul National University Station on Seoul Subway Line 2 amid sweltering heat, Monday. Korea Times photo by Nam Byeong-jin

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.