Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Skarp]

OK - I searched and I found an old thread. I read it.

I have some specific questions about Seoul's environment.

Noise

Obviously, big cities are noisy and you have to accept that. But - how much does it effect you. Are all streets noisy? All appartments? Is it 24 hours a day?

Air quality

So - how bad is it? Can you breathe the air? Does it make you feel ill all the time? Are there good days/bad days or is it bad all the time?

How much does the Seoul environment reduce your quality of life?

Do you have any tips for avoiding the worst effects?

Thanks

Skarp

[peppermint]

Well, Korean people are noisy- that's got nothing to do with the size of the city. By that I meant that using loudspeakers for advertising is completely acceptable to announce the trucks that drive around selling veggies. A lot depends on the area. Some areas are primarily residential, and they are relatively quiet. Unless you live in a bar district or near an airport, it shouldn't be that big a problem.

The air quality is pretty low here, at least by my standards( But I'm from a fairly remote area of Canada, so my standards are really high) I find that when I get a cough, it stays forever, and I blame that on the pollution

[thegadfly]

I lived in Seoul for 3 years total -- two years in Apkujeong, one year in Mokdong. I have also lived in Detroit and Houston, for comparison....

Seoul's air pollution, especially on "yellow wind" days is the worst I have ever experienced, though I am told that there are worse areas in Korea. I have read it is the equivalent of a half-a-pack a day smoking habit. I got an air conditioner and ran it most of the year and kept my windows closed. I have allergies, and bringing lots of allergy medicine was a must. Lots of respiratory infections and lots of rattles in the chest. There will be days when wearing that surgical mask seems like a good idea.

I am not a smoker, and I have allergies as I said. I have been told by smokers that it is not as noticeably bad to them...difference from 1/2 a pack to 1 and 1/2 packs is not as much as 0 to 1/2 a pack I guess....

The noise pollution is also constant. Besides the people hawking their wares at 6 and 7 am, there really isn't a time of day or night that the traffic stops...if you are in a tall building, it is better than if you are on the ground floor, and if you have your windows closed and AC on instead of open windows, it is even better. I grew used to the noise pretty quickly, but I spent two years without a break in Seoul, and I found that I had grown desperate for silence...I didn't really notice things being too loud all the time, but by the end of my two years, I was in a constant state of agitation from the minimum constant drone of the city. You do not really notice how loud it always is until something makes it quiet...Chu-sok was one of the few times the city actually got quiet...another was the during some of the heavy snows a few years back...Seoul muffled under a foot of snow, all traffic at a standstill and most folks inside somewhere -- amazing....

Now, all that being said, it depends on what you are used to...as far as the noise pollution goes, it took a two week holiday to "reset" me from a state of agitation back to "ok." It took me two years without a pause to get me there. A noisy neighbor will be much more of a problem than the background noise of the city, and if you are used to the hum of powerlines or the whine of fluorescent lights, you may be immune to it already.

If you smoke, the air quality may be less noticeable than it was to me, but if you have asthma or an otherwise sensitive respiratory system, there may be problems. Even with the air pollution, there were good and bad days -- one of the benefits of the rainy season is that there would be periods when the air actually seemed fresh and clean, at least to me.

It depends on what you are used to -- it is worse than Houston or Detroit, but I do not know if it is even as bad as LA or New York....

[Skarp]

Hmmn. That's pretty much what I thought.

Here, in a small English city the loudest noise I can hear is my computer fan.....

And if I open the window, the air smells fresh and clean....

I think those two factors will be the hardest for me. Noise and air pollution. I gather it is pretty crowded too.

I lived 3 years in Paris and after a while was used to the general rumble of traffic and the air was actually quite bad but I never noticed. Just made clean air seem better. (Both will be worse in Seoul, I know.)

You can't put a value on these two aspects of life.

My reasons for moving to Seoul are twofold - personal and financial. They pretty much outweigh all other considerations.

Still - thanks for the input - being prepared'll make it easier to deal with.


Skarp

[Starperson]

My major's Environmental Management and I'm from a beautiful clean area of Australia, so I may be overly critical. But this is my opinion.

There's no concept of 'noise pollution' here. People will do anything they feel like at any time of day or night. This means loading and unloading boxes onto a truck at midnight, scuffing down the echoey hallway of your apartment building at 2am and then slamming their big metal door. It means that if you go to a beach, someone will probably be blasting something from a loudspeaker (even if you've driven four hours to get there). I even went to a national park, spectacular and beautiful, except for the Buddhist messages being blasted from a loudspeaker, with mystical background music. Basically it's a noisy, noisy place. But you can find some apartments that will be pretty quiet, if it doesn't face onto a street. And most rooms have pretty good sound proofing on the windows.

The air is mostly dirty. I think I just don't breath properly most of the time. I don't feel like taking a deep breath will be healthy for me. But it doesn' make you feel sick, it's not that bad.
When cloud cover is low, it feels more fresh.

The Han river looks dirty and yellow, and there is little of aesthetic value along the river.

For me, Seoul is an eyesore. Sorry to complain and be negative, but that's truly how I feel.

However, if you manage to get away for weekends, you'll find beautiful mountains to climb, and lots of lush green fresh areas.

[thegadfly]

Um...yeah, Seoul can be crowded. Basically, it is like Christmas shopping on the 24th...only all the time...if you have a big personal bubble, the subway and the bus might be annoying....

However, if you are any kind of a people-watcher, it is a constant field day. You can watch all kinds of comedies and dramas playing out around you, all the time...some of the most bizarre things I have ever seen have happened in Seoul....

[BTM]

A news article I clipped a while back showed, with figures, that Seoul had the worst air quality in the OECD, in all but one measure. That's worse than Mexico City, Moscow, you name it.

It's bad out there.

[justagirl]

The air pollution is really bad. Sometimes I wipe my face off and my tissue is black from it. Quite disgusting.

[crazylemongirl]

The level of pollution in Seoul probably depends on where your from. I'm from new zealand and the air here is disgusting. Granted I live in Incheon which I hear is worse but it's always amazing on clear days to realise that seoul is surrounded by mountains. Most of the time you can't see them.


CLG

[Skarp]

Yuck.

Does anyone wear the anti-pollution masks I've seen on TV?

I suppose Koreans are too tough for this kind of woossy gear, but being a big white softie could I get away with it? People are going to stare at me anyway.

What do you think?

Skarp

[Emma Clare]

Back home in England I open the window to bird song, and the occasional lawnmower on a Sunday afternoon, or an ice cream van. The air is always clear and good to breathe. Clean and fresh.

I come to Seoul and the city is covered in a thick impenetrable blanket, which I think is meant to be the sky. I can just about see this through the haze of pollution. My eyes often sting and my lenses have been playing me up like crazy. Luckily, as of yesterday evening I'm living in Anseong (mountains, mountains, everywhere!!) and I get to hear how my friend is driven to distraction by the whistle blowing traffic cops outside her window and the blaring horns at 2am and constant traffic.

Yup, Seoul is disgusting. Plus it smells!!! It is the city of stench!

[Miss Moneypenny]

Being another Brit as Emma is, I must agree. Seoul is a stinky hole. Would you like to live in Central London? No, I doubt it. Multiply that by 100 and you have Seoul.

I'd seriously think about other cities in the ROK and forget the Seoul idea.

[Tiger Beer]

This is interesting.. actually I don't find Seoul bad at all. Comparitively to the rest of the planet, its not too bad. I think it depends alot on where else you've been and lived.

For example, my first time to Korea, I moved here from Portland Oregon. Portland is beautiful mountains, cleaning rains, smell of flowers in the air, a moist cleanliness all of the time. Portland compred to Seoul seems like I just stepped into what everyone else describes.

However, another time I came from New York City to Seoul (as well as NYC to Portland). NYC and Seoul feel very compareable. Air gauge factors probably give NYC a better ranking.. not sure.. but visually and feeling-wise, not all that different. This last time I lived in San Francisco in the USA, and SF is cleaner than NYC, but due to the severe homeless problem which leads to unination smells and such, Seoul was kind of refreshing on that level. However overall the Bay of San Francisco brings in alot of fresh air, and places near the ocean are always very good. Come to think of it Seoul has that urination and sometimes vomit smell to it often moreso and its not even from homeless people, just the general population.

Anyhow, Seoul compared to most places in southeast or South America/Mexico.. and I find Seoul pretty good again. Compared to Japan, then Korea is a big mess of a dump.

Well, to the original poster, where are you from? and perhaps we can give you a better feel for how you might take it in.

I'm going to guess that since you are asking about air quality and such, you are probably either Canadian or an American from an ultra-clean extremely environmentally-concious city State like Oregon, Washington, Colorado or something like that.. if so, then Korea is a cestpit.

If you grew up in an American midwest city or the East Coast or some industrial city, then Seoul will be no problem whatsoever for you. If you've traveled to foreign countries that don't include Japan and Western Europe, Oz&Nz then you'll probably find Seoul to be refreshing, quite clean comparitively and a nice place to be for awhile.

If you are from New Zealand or Australia, I'm not sure, I'm guessing that New Zeland in particular is significantly more clean and maybe the adjustment will be a shock to the system. Not sure.. Australia probably similar. But if you were an Aussie who took alot of vacations to Indonesia and know what 'bad pollution' problem means, then Seoul won't be bad at all.

Also, people who think Seoul is bad.. I've heard many who taught in Taiwan talk about how nice it is up here. Also, last time I was in Bangkok and walking around I just had this thick layer of dust that kept accumulating on my teeth. Comparitively, Seoul is nothing. Also, having spent nearly a year in South America, where I very often watched women clean out their purses on public buses by throwing the unneeded stuff out the windows, and fastfood bags and cups being whipped out regularly from a bus driver as well. They don't even have the social stigma not to do that even.

[Skarp]

Original poster here.

I'm from Britain. The picture I get is what I feared. I'm going to hate the environment.

Still - it has to be Seoul for personal reasons. If I really hate it and once I've got the hang of the language, I could try a smaller, possibly coastal place after a year or two.

Thanks to all those who replied with their comments and advice. Much appreciated

Skarp

[Kalhoun]

Seoul is ok. This ultra long rainy season has cleared much of the air pollution. I don't find the air too bad. It's when it's dry that the pollution accumulates- not to mention the springtime if there is Yellow dust blowing in from China.

all in all, I love Seoul and am very happy here.

Cheers!
Kalhoun