Korean Job Discussion Forums

[entersman]

How is Seoul like during winter ie is the nightlife, other attractions as good as other times of the year because i heard it can become very cold and it snows all the time, im afraid everyone will be in their homes and would be a bad time of the year in terms of enjoying myself.
Also where are the best clubs/bars in seoul? i heard there are some good ones in hongdae. I would prefer one which is popular with foreigners but that doesnt really matter.

[littlelisa]

I'm probably the worst person to be replying, since I don't get cold, but I'll take a stab at it.

I can't say much for Jan and Feb, as I only came this year, but so far the temperatures have been quite nice. It's been cold sometimes, but not so bad. It's also been cool more often than cold, and some days are almost warm.

It's "snowed" here twice.. and by that I mean barely. It melts the next day, if not sooner. I haven't noticed fewer people going out.

I have noticed that Koreans get cold really easily. It's almost funny. I'll be inside somewhere with the heating on, and they'll ask me if I'm cold.

But I mean, how cold is cold? Everyone will give you a different answer. Google some weather forecasts/charts.

[RACETRAITOR]

January and February will be colder than now, but the few snowfalls we've seen so far (I've counted three) are pretty well what you can expect. No matter how cold it gets, it will always warm up above zero quickly and all the snow will melt before you have time to shovel it.

[icicle]

I would be interested in knowing if this does vary depending on where in Seoul you are located ... Because I am just outside of Seoul ... and the snow falls that we had did not melt quickly ... and it also did not quickly rise above zero ... I would also be interested in knowing (from people who have been here for a while) how often snow really impacts on transport in Seoul and its surrounds ... ie makes it hard to get around ...

Icicle

[Bibbitybop]

Nothing in Seoul shuts down for regular amounts of snow except the traffic as no on in Korea can properly drive in the snow, or even the rain.

You may have people who stay home due to the weather, but things are still open.

[Carmy]

I think it depends on your tolerance for cold. I hate Winter so right now, whilst others may say it's 'warm' I'm sayin yeah effing right! My hands are constantly numb, my nose is always running, my lips are blue which all makes for a very uncomfortable experience. But I dress warmly and once I'm inside a building I'm fine.
I know it's still going to get a lot colder but eventually it'll end. That's another thing about Korean winters...it's so loooooooooong!

However, in answer to your question, I don't think the cold will keep people away, some may prefer to stay indoors in sub zero temperatures (I'm thinking couples etc) but us singletons are always out partying;)

Hongdae and Sinchon are great places to party and I'm trying out Gangnam this weekend, so I'll see what that holds.
Also Itaewon is of course foreigner central if that's your thing.

[RACETRAITOR]

[nobbyken]

Last winter we were living on a steep hillside lane, which never seem much traffic, in northern Seoul.
Once it stopped snowing, people were out wth snow shovels clearing the lane. Any snow which wasn't cleared would turn to ice and remain for about 5-7 days.
No other ice about because of the lack of moisture in the air.

[entersman]

thank you so much

[entersman]

thank you so much