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transmogrifier
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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 Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 4:45 am Post subject: |
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| Yep, it's getting to the stage where I'll start pining for summer soon...and I hate the summers here. Halfway through summer, I'll be pining for winter again. |
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3DR
Joined: 24 May 2009
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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I'll take the summers here anytime. At least I can turn on my air con and effectively cool the place.
As someone stated earlier, my place sucks when it comes to heating. Four sheets of plastic over the big 10x10 window in my place has cut down the cold by about 10% as cold here is somehow still coming in from the walls, door (even after weather stripping), etc.
Bring on 90-100 degrees anytime!! |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| lemak wrote: |
| andrewchon wrote: |
| Sorry, we're all Canadians here. Forum for woosses are in ... |
....May, when the "this is nothing....in Canaduh...." crowd are whining that the temperature has hit 20 degrees and their cheesy thighs are chafing in the "heat", eh? 
I'm still of the opinion that once it hits a certain point friggin' cold is friggin' cold. The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible.
I'd wager a minus 30 degree winter in Saskatchapoongina in a house with decent heating and insulation is far nicer and pleasant than a minus 5 in a Korean concrete sardine can with breezy doors, single glazed windows and walls so chilly you practically stick to them when you touch them. Let's face it in either case you're not spending a huge amount of time outdoors in the elements. |
A well built insulated house in Canada with a remote control car starter on cold mornings to heat your car while you eat your wheaties is awesome. You can drive in warmth to your job, go to a huge fitness club with heating to work out, and walk around a large indoor shopping mall to get exercise. These help to make the cold more tolerable. Korea has none of these. But minus 2 is still warmer than minus 30. Don't dispute that point. Difference between inconvenience and dying from exposure. Especially true when colder than minus 40. Korea's cold is more of an inconvenience than life threatening. That said, the odd cold snap from Siberia that brings down winds making it feel like minus 15 to 18 is getting into danger territory. Minus 2, not so much.
I'd say the real difference is also the clothing. In Canada and probably northern US states, we use real insulated clothing. As a Canadian, I've always loved the American company LL Bean from Maine. They have really warm clothing. The Korean made stuff is shiite. Also, western brands made and sold for the local Korean market isn't made the same way. So, I order online and fill the suitcases when I visit home. I walk around in this cold prepared. Most Koreans don't. Their thin sytlish leather jacket ain't going to cut the mustard. Hence the "chupta", "chew - wa - yo".
Canadians generally know how to dress and prepare for the cold. I'd say the same of an American from Alaska, Maine, or Minnesota too. Westerners from warmer climates probably follow the Koreans lead, which isn't a good one to follow. I like most people here, but they don't always have common sense. (Opening the windows, then saying "chupta".)
As for the housing here, get some newer housing built within the past 3 or 4 years. That should eliminate much of the chill and other issues. Modern villas will have thick double windows and good insulation put on the side of the building. Hence, no mold. If you have mold problems in a new building, it's because the owner didn't build it right and dishonestly cut corners. I live in one 4 years old and have never experienced such warmth in winter during my time in the ROK. Previously buildings, I lived in were both cold and mold prone. One was old and the other was new but built by a j@(k@$$ who cut corners to make a quick won. (The second one involved forced foriegner living by the local education office because they had some crooked bribing deal promising them money from us. Needless to say, they got the finger from me after one winter and I moved to another town and chose my own place in a new area.) |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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| lemak wrote: |
| The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible. |
Massive difference between -5 and -25. |
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Zyzyfer
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: who, what, where, when, why, how?
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 6:44 pm Post subject: |
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| As a smoker whose hands get punished by the cold for my dirty little habit, I think I can state with authority that once you dip below -5 it all feels the same, COLD. |
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lemak
Joined: 02 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:38 pm Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| lemak wrote: |
| The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible. |
Massive difference between -5 and -25. |
Nah, dear Jvalmer, and I've lived considerable periods in both. Essentially the same - annoying, unpleasant and grim. Although I understand not acting in awe or deference to Canada's winter ruffles feathers (kind of on par with telling a Korean their food isn't as spicy as they'd like to think), however beyond a certain point cold is just cold. For what it's worth I'd argue the other way too...... plus 40 degrees....plus 55 degrees....whatever. It's nasty.
Ironically the person I worked with in Korea who outwhined even the Korean ladies about the cold grew up in Edmonton of all places. |
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SMOE NSET
Joined: 25 Feb 2010
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Now if only my school would turn on the heaters instead of having me sit in my office weathering the cold for the "good of the nation." It's not my fault the government can't regulate their nuclear plants properly. |
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T-J
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul EunpyungGu Yeonsinnae
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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| lemak wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| lemak wrote: |
| The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible. |
Massive difference between -5 and -25. |
Nah, dear Jvalmer, and I've lived considerable periods in both. Essentially the same - annoying, unpleasant and grim. Although I understand not acting in awe or deference to Canada's winter ruffles feathers (kind of on par with telling a Korean their food isn't as spicy as they'd like to think), however beyond a certain point cold is just cold. For what it's worth I'd argue the other way too...... plus 40 degrees....plus 55 degrees....whatever. It's nasty.
Ironically the person I worked with in Korea who outwhined even the Korean ladies about the cold grew up in Edmonton of all places. |
Got to agree with this. When it's 40 and damp is the worst.
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2012 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| lemak wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| lemak wrote: |
| The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible. |
Massive difference between -5 and -25. |
Nah, dear Jvalmer, and I've lived considerable periods in both. Essentially the same - annoying, unpleasant and grim. Although I understand not acting in awe or deference to Canada's winter ruffles feathers (kind of on par with telling a Korean their food isn't as spicy as they'd like to think), however beyond a certain point cold is just cold. For what it's worth I'd argue the other way too...... plus 40 degrees....plus 55 degrees....whatever. It's nasty.
Ironically the person I worked with in Korea who outwhined even the Korean ladies about the cold grew up in Edmonton of all places. |
The difference between -5 and -25 is like the difference between +5 and +25. It is vastly different.
-5 is barely below freezing. I do admit if I do ever experience -40 weather, -55 won't feel that different. |
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JustinC
Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!
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| Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 1:16 am Post subject: |
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I'd guess people stay out a lot less when it's -25 compared to -5, you're not going to walk around town for an afternoon of shopping in -25, just
home-->bus/taxi-->work-->bus/taxi-->home.
I've experienced -40 but it was a walk-in meat freezer; 5 minutes is fine if you're wrapped in a coat and gloves, I'd imagine more than half an hour and you're risking frostbite. Last night I was walking home in -15 to -20c (depending on which website you looked at) and it was painful on my bare hands walking out in that for 20 minutes, when -5 is just uncomfortable.
You can put in temperature and wind speed into this website and it'll tell you how fast you get frostbite, I reckon there's a difference between -5 and -25.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=frostbite&a=*C.frostbite-_*Formula.dflt-&f2=7+%C2%B0F&x=0&y=0&f=Frostbite.T_7+%C2%B0F&f3=40+mph&f=Frostbite.vw_40+mph |
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newb
Joined: 27 Aug 2012
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:08 am Post subject: |
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Lived in Greenland for a year. During the night mode, six month in the total darkness with bone-chilling cold, even heavily insulated buildings with heating doesn't cut it. Many people including military and civilian contractors can't withstand the cold and weirdness of 6 months in the darkness and 6 months of daylight. People go mad and they end up getting sent home earlier. I barely survived a year there and now I despise the cold. I survived Greenland so I can survive the HOT winter months of Korea.  |
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Captain Corea
Joined: 28 Feb 2005
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:46 am Post subject: |
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| jvalmer wrote: |
| lemak wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| lemak wrote: |
| The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible. |
Massive difference between -5 and -25. |
Nah, dear Jvalmer, and I've lived considerable periods in both. Essentially the same - annoying, unpleasant and grim. Although I understand not acting in awe or deference to Canada's winter ruffles feathers (kind of on par with telling a Korean their food isn't as spicy as they'd like to think), however beyond a certain point cold is just cold. For what it's worth I'd argue the other way too...... plus 40 degrees....plus 55 degrees....whatever. It's nasty.
Ironically the person I worked with in Korea who outwhined even the Korean ladies about the cold grew up in Edmonton of all places. |
The difference between -5 and -25 is like the difference between +5 and +25. It is vastly different.
-5 is barely below freezing. I do admit if I do ever experience -40 weather, -55 won't feel that different. |
Yeah, I'm going to agree with this.
-5 is easy enough to walk around in for lengths of time... -25 is much harder.
I do feel you're trolling a bit though lemak. The bit about ruffling feathers, and the jab at the Edmontonian... not needed. Why not simply talk about YOUR experiences and feelings.
If you honestly feel that walking around outside at -5 is basically the same as -25 ... all the power to ya.
I find them quite different. Just as I find -45 sooooooo much worse. |
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Stan Rogers
Joined: 20 Aug 2010
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| Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 3:17 am Post subject: |
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Below zero? What's that?
These are days I'm happy to be on Jeju Island! |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| lemak wrote: |
| jvalmer wrote: |
| lemak wrote: |
| The difference between minus 5 and minus 25 to me seems pretty negligible. |
Massive difference between -5 and -25. |
Nah, dear Jvalmer, and I've lived considerable periods in both. Essentially the same - annoying, unpleasant and grim. Although I understand not acting in awe or deference to Canada's winter ruffles feathers (kind of on par with telling a Korean their food isn't as spicy as they'd like to think), however beyond a certain point cold is just cold. For what it's worth I'd argue the other way too...... plus 40 degrees....plus 55 degrees....whatever. It's nasty.
Ironically the person I worked with in Korea who outwhined even the Korean ladies about the cold grew up in Edmonton of all places. |
In fairness, Edmonton will have well insulated buildings and the heat actually turned on. Poorly insulated buildings and the heat rarely turned on can make this more annoying. Also, much of Canada has a dry cold. Korea often has a damp cold when it's minus 5 and chills into your bones more. The only time the air gets dry is when the winds whip through and push it down to minus 15 to minus 20 range when the wind chills are factored in. Either way, it gets cold. I'm minding it more than before. Am I becoming climatised? Summers are still annoying, but maybe not as much as the shock as my first year. (I did arrive in early June a few years back and was thrown into the brunt of Korean summer that first year.) |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 6:43 am Post subject: |
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Jeju - http://weather.ca.msn.com/tenday.aspx?wealocations=wc:KSXX0004
Jeju city has a couple of days with lows of minus 2, but some daytime highs of 9 and 10 degrees.
Seoul - http://weather.ca.msn.com/tenday.aspx?wealocations=wc:KSXX0037
Seoul has some pretty cold days with lows of minus 16 next week. Wind chills will prob make it feel closer to minus 20. It's cold enough even for a Canadian.
Jeju is the warmer of the two. Busan inbetween though slightly closer to Jeju than to Seoul. Daejeon is only a couple of degrees warmer than Seoul. So most of the country will be cold next week. (If you're reading this or reviving an old post several months or a couple of years from now, the above mentioned refers to the week of New Year's 2013.) |
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