Korean Job Discussion Forums

[steveinincheon]

I was just told a few minutes ago my by co/handler that the school tap water was just tested and that it is " dangerous" to drink. I have been drinking about 3 liters a day of it every day for over a year now with no ill effects, and today was the first I've heard anything about it.

I never planned on drinking the water here in the first place, but on my first night in Korea I woke up a few hours after my first encounter with soju parched and instinctively stumbled to the sink and chugged water for a good two minutes. Not having any problems with the water I started just drinking the tap water to avoid having to buy it - slowly at first, and now I drink 4-5 liters of tap water a day.

I know the water is treated because I can taste the chlorine in it. I also understand that the problem with the water is old piping that might contain lead, mercury or other heavy metals. And herein lies the contradiction. My Korean co-workers all use the tap water for making coffee, tea, and for cooking. But if the water is contaminated with heavy metals rather than microorganisms boiling it will do no good - you can't boil lead out of water just by heating it.

So has anyone else noticed Koreans cooking and making coffee with water that is supposedly too dangerous to drink? Am I the only one that actually does drink the water here? I haven't gone to bottled water because I have not had any problems drinking the tap water - so I hope I dont die at age 30 as a result. But if the water is so dangerous it seems that more people would have problems as I do see people drinking coffee, tea and other drinks made from tap water.

[Aelric]

You know, I didn't even think of the heavy metals thing. I live in an old building, too. I think I'm going full yuppie and start getting all bottled water for cooking from here on in. The tap I'll use for cleaning only.

Maybe that explains the fatigue I had before I left and that I immediately got back upon arriving again.

[Buffalo]

Steve-- How old is this school? A recent building should have new water pipes-- thus clean water to drink. I drink from my tap all of the time. I live in a newer government building.
I would not drink the water from the school until I find the hard facts. Mercury and lead can build up in your body over time-- it also does some damage to the liver. You may not notice it now, because the liver is highly resilient until it is about 80% inefficient, but you could be shaving precious months/ years from your life.
Another thing is that bottled water is a huge business here. I wouldn't be surprised if these water companies are constantly propagating that drinking tap water is bad for your health.

[Renee S.]

I just arrived in Korea a few days ago. Up until yesterday-- I've been drinking strictly out of the tap since it didn't taste as bad as everyone else had said...until my Korean co-teacher looked at me in horror when I told her about it and said to stop drinking it immediately. It may just be commercial propaganda-- but I noticed the fatigue too. I originally attributed it to jet lag, but I've had lots of decent sleep in the last couple days and still feel extremely exhausted at night. I started drinking bottled water yesterday and I feel I have lots more energy already. I'd say-- even if it is just propaganda, look out for your health first and buy bottled water. Good luck.

[jdog2050]

[nobbyken]

Water quality depends on your location.
I can drink Southern Seoul tap water, but the stuff at my home in near Yongin city gives me problems and I can't drink more than a cup a day.

[steveinincheon]

Yeah,
I'm definitely gonna cut back on the tap water here after hearing that the water was tested and failed. Also, the school is pretty old, and is in an older fairly blue collar part of incheon. I guess I still have my doubts though about just how contaminated it is, given that boiling doesn't remove heavy metals and all the kids at my school drink barley tea from it every day. If 20 years down the kids at my school start getting cirrhosis and cancer i'll be glad i made the right choice.

[bobbybigfoot]

It's all a scam. You are screwed either way.

Bottled water is notorious for being no better (little better) than tap water. Largely, you are WASTING your money.

Unless of course you are drinking contaminated tap water.

Personally, I take water from my school's filtering system. But I have NO way of knowing if this filter does anything, or what it does. I have no idea how often these filters are changed.

The bottom line: make a reasonable decision and then forget about it. Our bodies are slowly being poisoned by the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink. How much of our lives are being shaved off? Who knows.

But it's a give and take: we live in a society with far better medicine so any years that are shaved off are added by advancements in science.

My advice: forget organic, forget buying bottled water. Get a Brita filter and then don't give it a second thought.

[jdog2050]

[bobbybigfoot]

69 at 69 makes me cringe!

[Jane]

I second the Brita. Better for the environment and also for the wallet.

I worry more everyday about getting hit by a rogue adjumma-driven Matiz then by downing a glass of Seoul tap water. Having said that, I don't think I would drink tap water if I lived in an old building.

[Rusty Shackleford]

Just because the water at one school isn't safe to drink, doesn't mean the water in all of Korea is also unsafe. Admittedly, I mostly drink bottled water, partly because it's impossible to get a straight answer about whether the tap water is safe or not but also from force of habit of being a paranoid noob. I'm going to start weaning myself onto tap water and see what happens.

[nathanrutledge]

I've heard the Mayor of Seoul is trumpeting drinking water from the tap; says he does it personally.

As someone pointed out, the new building it may not be an issue, but if the new building is in an old part of town, the old city pipes may be to blame. Anyway, the question about the water department is the right one to ask. If you ask the water department, get a report, it will tell you whats going on. Also, you can get a test kit and test for heavy metals in the water at your tap if you're so inclined.

On a side note, my cousin was the "Director of Parks and Water" (read: he checked the wells and oiled the swings) in a small town in rural America, and the biggest problem they had was nitrates. Living over the aquafir, the water was pure, sand-filtered, with nitrates being the only problem. Here in Korea, with all the industrial pollution (coupled with the pollution from China and Japan in the region) plus all the farming in the countryside, AND the cost to decontaminate all the water for 50 million people... There's a reason bottled water is so expensive relative to tap water. I wouldn't drink the tap water here, be it lead, mercury, or nitrates, let alone any bacterium.

[McGenghis]

I remember reading somewhere that countries with wet rice growing techniques generally had pretty bad water. If you walk along a paddy and check out the myriad little lives frolicking away in the swampy water, you will easily understand why.

Of course this problem could be rectified with proper water treatment facilities, but one wonders how pervasive these are in Korea. During my first year in southern Gyeonggi, I left a glass of water by the sink while I was away in Seoul for the weekend. When I came back it was covered in a film of mold.

I remember waking up at 5 am sometimes after intimate encounters with Dominatrix Soju, and waiting around while bowls of boiled water cooled in my freezer so I could have something to drink.

[morrisonhotel]