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tap water ?
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mistermasan



Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:57 am    Post subject: tap water ? Reply with quote

everybody says don't drink the tap water in korea. why?
it is OK to wash vegetables in, it is OK to brush teeth with, it is OK to bathe in but it isn't safe to drink?

more info please as to why.
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bejarano-korea



Joined: 13 Dec 2006

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are thirsty I have a warm Japanese beer here in my rucksack that you can have! Laughing

Anyway, I have a question to ask.. where was that pretty blonde girl who you were chatting up off the hydrofoil from? Was she a Kiwi?
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idonojacs



Joined: 07 Jun 2007

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Everybody?

I guess it depends where you are and what the water tastes like.

The Koreans have a phobia for tap water, but then they have a lot of phobias. I think they are the remnant of times when disease, such as hepatitis A, was rampant.

The teachers at work in the school next door won't drink the tap water. The water from the tap in my apartment is fine. I do not live in Seoul. And my co-teacher told me not to worry about the water.

If you live in a relatively modern area where the water and sewer system pipes are sound, and the building pipes are sound, the water is probably at least disease free. Beyond that, it depends on the water source and treatment.

Now here's the key part I've observed: The water tastes a bit odd by American standards fresh out of the tap. I think that's because they use a different chemical form of chlorine than in the U.S.

If I fill a water bottle and put it in the frig overnight it tastes fine. So I think the chlorine dissipates.

I use it for everything, no problems

But the water from the tap at a rural school I work at is unpleasant. Probably a municipal well with lots of minerals. I bring a thermos to work.

That's all I can tell you.

Is your water clear?

How does it taste after a night in the frig or just sitting out?

How does it taste used for tea?

If it's OK, then I wouldn't worry.

If the water supply in your area is old, I would make sure I had a hepatitis A shot. A bit of sewage could seep into the water mains.
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Rumple



Joined: 19 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 4:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Disease is not the main issue. In Korea, the majority of water pipes are soldered with LEAD solder. In the USA we use tin and tin alloys now, or plastic pipes. So even if the water tastes fine, it may well cause you a problem...in one or more decades.
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JungMin



Joined: 18 May 2005

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rumple wrote:
Disease is not the main issue. In Korea, the majority of water pipes are soldered with LEAD solder. In the USA we use tin and tin alloys now, or plastic pipes. So even if the water tastes fine, it may well cause you a problem...in one or more decades.


A few months ago I saw workers laying new pipe, and it was indeed plastic. But yes, i'm sure it depends on where you live.
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Draz



Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:16 am    Post subject: Re: tap water ? Reply with quote

mistermasan wrote:
everybody says don't drink the tap water in korea. why?
it is OK to wash vegetables in, it is OK to brush teeth with, it is OK to bathe in but it isn't safe to drink?

more info please as to why.


It's okay to brush your teeth with toothpaste but drinking 8 cups a day of it is strongly discouraged.
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chris_J2



Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: From Brisbane, Au.

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 7:51 am    Post subject: water Reply with quote

I've read in Lonely Planet Korea, that there are minute traces of a pesticides & heavy metals in the tapwater, & not to drink large quantities of it. (Probably from all the fumigation trucks in summer). Brushing your teeth in it is okay. You're welcome to find a more credible academic source, or continuing drinking it, if you disbelieve. I use bottled water, as much as possible.
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georgewallas



Joined: 26 Nov 2007

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:26 am    Post subject: this IS a 3rd world country Reply with quote

Would you drink Cambodian or Thai tap water?
If you view Korea as a cold Cambodia, or as a very unpleasant Thailand, rather than, say, a backwater upstate NYS town, or a nasty Canadian city, you'll have a good idea of why the water here should not be touched.

In my 18 months in SE Asia, I got food poisoning once, and that was MY fault [I was in a boarder town, and ate lukewarm noodle soup, that smelled like the Mekong river, as I realized after I finished, that's exactly where the soup water was coming from]. In essence, I think that the sole difference between that border town food stand and Korean tap water is that a machine does the pumping here.

Since I have arrived here, I was in the hospital thrice for that reason exactly. I am a seasoned traveller, but as my wife refers to them these people are "dutty bloodcleet Kingstun falk", or 4th rate Jamaicans. I am certain that applies to the water quality too, not just the unsanitary handling of food.

I can't believe I would say this, ever, about anything Thai. But there's common sense as far as keeping healthy in Thailand, [they are generally much cleaner than Koreans] which does not exist here. in Bangkok you can buy water from a water filtering machine for 1 THB [3cents US] a litter, and they are everywhere, or a litter of spring water for 10 THB at any 7 11 [again, obiquitous].

Since you are here, you should buy a Britta, or join a 20 gallon sanitized water jug subscription [they deliver water cooler jugs to homes, ask at your Hokwan].
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idonojacs



Joined: 07 Jun 2007

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I seriously doubt Korea still uses lead solder; the US banned it about 20 years ago.

However, there may still be lead solder in older buildings. But after awhile, it kinda runs out of solder to leach, I am told.

I was shocked to learn that a town I lived in in the States still had some lead water mains. But it passed the EPA lead guidelines, which are strict. If the water is flowing steadily, lead is not normally a problem. It also depends on the purity of the water. Dirty water absorbs less lead; very clean water is more susceptible to lead contamination. So some utilities add chemicals to reduce lead leaching.

If you think you are in a building with lead solder, just let the tap run for a minute before drinking.

As to pesticides, that is a more worrisome question. I guess the only way to know would be to have the water tested. If someone is going home, why not bring a jar of water and have it tested. Just ask you local government for a testing agency. Heck, if you ask the right person at a government agency, they might test it for free out of curiosity.

The bottom line: If you water tastes like chemicals, even after sitting out overnight, don't drink it. I talked with a fellow once who was drinking water from his well that was contaminated from a leaking underground storage tank - LUST - for months before he had it tested. He was being poisoned. The water smelled like gasoline. But being a mechanic, he thought nothing of it. But this was a private well.
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Typhoon



Joined: 29 May 2007
Location: Daejeon

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The workers at KWater (Korean National Water Company) drink it and say it is safe for everyone else too. That is good enough for me, but I do have a huge filter at my house, more to have fast really hot and cold water than anything else though.
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Rumple



Joined: 19 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

idonojacs wrote:
I seriously doubt Korea still uses lead solder; the US banned it about 20 years ago.

However, there may still be lead solder in older buildings. But after awhile, it kinda runs out of solder to leach, I am told.


"Although the states have banned all use of lead materials in drinking water systems, such bans do not eliminate lead contamination within existing plumbing. Also, in enforcing the ban, some states have continued to find illegally used lead solder in new plumbing installations."

"Lead-contaminated drinking water is most often a problem in houses that are either very old or very new...the use of lead solder with copper pipes is widespread. Experts regard this lead solder as the major cause of lead contamination of household water in U.S. homes today. New brass faucets and fittings can also leach lead, even though they are "lead-free." Scientific data indicate that the newer the home, the greater the risk of lead contamination. Lead levels decrease as a building ages. This is because, as time passes, mineral deposits form a coating on the inside of the pipes (if the water is not corrosive). This coating insulates the water from the solder. But, during the first five years (before the coating forms) water is in direct contact with the lead. More likely than not, water in buildings less than five years old has high levels of lead contamination."

These quotes are both from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website.
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Typhoon



Joined: 29 May 2007
Location: Daejeon

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The workers at KWater (Korean National Water Company) drink it and say it is safe for everyone else too. That is good enough for me, but I do have a huge filter at my house, more to have fast really hot and cold water than anything else though.
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Rumple



Joined: 19 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

idonojacs wrote:
I seriously doubt Korea still uses lead solder; the US banned it about 20 years ago.


Yeah, prostitution is illegal in Korea too. ;)

And everyone knows that Koreans won't continue to engage in a practice once they learn it is unsafe.

I wonder what else the USA stopped doing that Korea still does? That's a subject for a whole 'nother thread.
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ryouga013



Joined: 14 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most of it is taste which I don't mind but sometimes, especially in the older places the older heavy metal cupplings are still there. Also, in the summer sometimes if I didn't run the tap for a little bit in spring and summer I had orange water come out... hasn't happened lately but still... yuck
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Real Reality



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:46 am    Post subject: Re: tap water ? Reply with quote

mistermasan wrote:
everybody says don't drink the tap water in korea. why?
it is OK to wash vegetables in, it is OK to brush teeth with, it is OK to bathe in but it isn't safe to drink?
more info please as to why.

The links may not work. Look up the articles yourself and update the links if you want to.
Drinking water in Korea
Most Koreans opt for bottled or spring water
Korean tap water is certainly clean and safe for washing food and cooking, but in most cities, boiling it before drinking it from the tap is recommended by health experts.
JoongAng Daily (March 27, 2005)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200503/27/200503271816271679900091009112.html

[EDITORIALS] A failed water quality plan
Paldang reservoir recorded 4.1 ppm in chemical oxygen demand, qualifying it as water for industrial use only. In other words, the reservior's water quality is heading towards excessive levels of eutrophication.
JoongAng Daily (February 17, 2005)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200502/17/200502172301472339900090109011.html

39 people arrested for polluting Seoul's reservoir
The prosecution said yesterday it indicted 39 restaurant owners for contaminating a huge reservoir near Seoul with untreated sewage and erecting buildings on its shore without permission from the government.
The Seoul District Public Prosecutors' Office also said it imposed fines of 3 million won to 10 million won on another 35 restaurant owners on the same charges. The restaurant owners are accused of dumping untreated wastewater into the Paldang Reservoir 24 km east of Seoul and illegally building parking lots adjacent to their establishments.
The man-made reservoir is the main source of tap water for the Seoul metropolitan area.
by Joo Sang-min, The Korea Herald (November 4, 2002)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/11/04/200211040039.asp

Supplying Harmful Service Water for Three Years
On April 1, it said, "We took disciplinary measures on 11 related officers, including the director of the Office of Waterworks, Lee Jin-suk, because it was revealed that they made up the results of the special inspection on service water."
According to Ulsan City, the Office of Waterworks examined Bumseo Filtration Plant in Ulju District and discovered that its civic water contained more boron (B), which could have negative effects on the digestive system, than the standard limit (0.3ppm). It also altered the number to 0.18ppm for June 2002 and March 2002 after inspecting the Bumseo clean water system. In addition, it didn't inform anything when it detected tetraclorodetilen which is classified as a carcinogen and harmful chemical object from underground water, at the Nongso Filtration Plant in the North District during July and December of 2001.
donga.com (April 01, 2004)
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004040299698

Air and water: causes for concern
Although the number of water-source contamination accidents has dropped, eutrophication and green tide in the Han River's upstream sections -- Seoul's water source -- are recurring. Last November, prosecutors found that companies were discharging Formalin, a solution of formaldehyde with trace amounts of methanol, in the river's upper reaches.
Severe contamination of the upper river can adversely affect tap water. That's because the process of sterilizing contaminated water may bring about unwanted chemical reactions that produce undesirable residue. Without disinfection, however, the water is undrinkable because of viruses and bacteria.
"Increasing the amount of chlorine in the purification process to kill microorganisms could produce more carcinogenic residue," one researcher said.
by Kang Chan-su, Kwon Keun-young, JoongAng Daily (April 21, 2004)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200404/21/200404212203389039900091009101.html
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