 A man looks at his car after failing to jump-start it amid the freezing weather in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Monday. The temperature dropped to minus 26 degrees Celsius Monday morning in the region. The cold weather, which has affected nearly everyone from housewives to office workers, is expected to continue throughout the month. / Yonhap |
By Han Sang-hee
Yun Jeong-man, 56, a security guard at an apartment complex in southern Seoul is spending his busiest winter ever in his 20 years on the job.
``I’ve been getting calls all day, every day. Water pipes froze during the chilly nights, which made it impossible to use their washing machines, a number of cars didn’t start in the morning and some apartments couldn’t open their windows because they were frozen shut!’’ he said Tuesday morning.
The cold snap has broken into the everyday lives of Koreans for the past week, and observers in various fields have noticed the unprecedented chill effecting their habits and overall behavior.
According to the National Emergency Management Agency Monday, some 4,000 households have called about frozen water pipes, which is four times more than last year.
``It’s frustrating because we can’t use the washer, but what can you do? I have used my hair dryer to thaw the pipes like experts have said to do on the news, but it takes too much time,’’ said housewife Lee Jin.
Office workers who commute by car have gone through a rough time as well, as many of their cars didn’t start at all while others had to take time to defrost frozen windshields and doors.
``I would use warm water to warm up the car, but I’m afraid it will cause more damage by freezing again,’’ said Kim Min-soo, while scraping the ice off the windows of his car on Tuesday morning.
Insurance companies have received a record high number of calls in the past few days. Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance received 19,300 emergency calls on Monday morning. Usually the company gets some 6,000 calls per day.
The exceptionally cold weather has also influenced the way people dress.
``I always thought wearing long thermal underwear was a nuisance because you feel so uncomfortable and bulky, but on days like this, there is nothing better than keeping yourself warm waering extra clothes,’’ said 27-year-old office worker Lim Bo-hyun.
Office workers who mostly wear formal suits and coats have turned to warmer and thicker parkas, while some are even opting for sneakers and boots instead of high heels and formal shoes.
Some companies have also released official documents to departments, asking them to keep the indoor temperature to 22 degrees Celsius and to try not to raise it any higher considering the massive use of electricity all over the city.
``We don’t go out for coffee and other snacks at lunch time. We stopped having late get-togethers because it’s just too cold to go out and have drinks,’’ said another office worker Jeong Woo-young.
While the people at work are doing their best to keep themselves warm, people at home are also doing their share to counter the effects of the icy weather.
Thanks to the chill, the demand for winter goods has seen a jump, particularly through televised home shopping networks and online shopping malls.
GS Shop, a home shopping network, saw a 20 percent hike in sales compared to that during the weekend, while online shopping website Auction also sold 32 percent more groceries than the same period last year.
``We prepare broadcasts two weeks prior to the actual airing and we have plenty of winter goods such as moisturizing creams and clothes for the time being. A stronger demand for winter goods is likely to continue throughout next month as the cold snap is expected to get worse,’’ said a merchandiser from a home shopping network.
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