Korean Job Discussion Forums

hadeshorn · Joined: 30 Jul 2003

Ok I know we have done air pollution to death. I also realise its screwed here.

However what I want to know how it affects different people. I dont get asthma. But I get some wierd ass gunk in my throat first thing in the morning which has only just occured recently (I have been here 6-7 months)

But yeah at the end of the day my throat cracks a bit when I talk. I just get so sick of being sick in the shower trying to get my throat clear.

Any other horror stories people care to share?

I dont have breathing problems, Just throat and nose problems.

Harpeau · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Coquitlam, BC

I'm very grateful for rainy days. It clears away the Seoul smog.

This is more to do with lungs than anything else. Before bed, I rub lots of Tiger Balm on my chest (the red kind). I find next morningI'm coughing up some strange colored stuff, but I feel fine after a shower. A good sauna can also help. Try and rest your voice when you can.Be very careful this time of year as there is lots of bacteria floating through the air.

Best of luck,
Harpeau

Dan · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Sunny Glendale, CA

Is the air really that bad? I would imagine it depends on where you were before. Having lived in cities or around cities my whole life, I really didn't notice that big a difference.

Bulsajo · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

I could be wrong Dan, but I think there are 2 factors in particular which contribute to a high degree of air pollution in Korea's larger cities: lack of catalytic converters, and the high number of cars- I recall reading the Korea had the highest cars per kilometer of road ratio in the world a few years back, and I imagine that ratio is only going up...
I'm sure the air is not so bad compared with Manila or Bangkok or Mexico City, but most English teachers in Korea don't hail from such places.
(You really didn't notice Bucheon's air quality suffered compared to NYC's? Shocked

)

Dan · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Sunny Glendale, CA

Fortunately I did not have to suffer the concrete hell of Bucheon (sorry Bum). I was in a relatively low population suburb area near Bucheon.

But even while I was in Seoul I really did not notice the air.

But then, I barely noticed the air in LA when it was REALLY bad (several years ago) perhaps my respiratory system has degraded to such a degree as to not care any longer.

camel96 · Guest

My asthma had almost gone into...um...remission before and since being back in Korea it's gone to total crap. If I was to stay here (at least in the polluted town I'm in) for a long time it'd probably kill me in the end.

shevek · Joined: 29 Jul 2003

I think I have pneumonia or bronchitis or something. I have been hacking for almost a month now and it gets worse everyday. I have been coughing up wads of bloody things today so I am going to the doctor. Also, I used to only cough up only yellow and green and now it's brown when it's not bloody. Also, I coughed so hard and couldn't breath for so long from coughing this morning that I fell asleep or passed out or something. Also, I stopped smoking when this started and it hasn't helped. I am irritated.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

my asthma comes and goes here.

The dry winters certainly help it.

The air pollution is bad, but I come from auckland which has 1 million people and a lot of coastline.

CLG

ratslash · Joined: 08 May 2003

aye, i've had lung f*cK (as my friends and i call it) since i've arrived (9 months ago). you kind of get used to it. give it a name and make it your friend!

Draven · Joined: 03 Feb 2003

I'm suffering some of the same things that several others have posted about and won't try to out-gross anyone (not that I could, thankfully it's not as bad for me as it is for say, shevek), but I will add a little.

Several nights a week I wake up hacking and have to expel those lovely phlegmy things. The hacking is so bad that I think I've pulled a muscle or something in my chest or something. Now I picked up some cough syrup today, but that doesn't address the issue of what's causing the coughing. In fact, it's probably better in the long run to hack up whatever is irritating, right?

Short of wearing a dust mask all day, anyone with any ideas?

Harpeau · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Location: Coquitlam, BC

Last fall at this time, I had viral pleurosy and bacterial pneumonia. I could hardly breath and ended up in the hospital for just under two weeks. I would highly recommend Dr. Lee at the Cha hospital in Bundang. She's a great Cardio-vascular specialist. I taught her English for a while and now another friend of mine is teaching her.

Feeling better these days.
Harpeau

desultude · Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2003 6:57 am Post subject:

I don't think it gets any better with time, considering how much the guys here clear their throats and spit. Gives me some sympathy for them!

I got asthma here for the first time in my life. I was sick from April until August. My chest is starting to get tight when the air is bad these days, and I am nervous about the winter. But I have four weeks on South Beach coming up soon, and I am sure the clean sea air will clear thing up for a while. I just wish that I could bottle it!