Korean Job Discussion Forums

normalperson · Joined: 06 Jan 2011

Okay, so I'm from Australia. Extremely hot and humid.
I come here and I'm freezing my ass off!
Now I know it could be because I'm not used to the weather,
But when I see girls wearing short skirts and men wearing suits... WTF!?
I'm walking around looking like a damn oompa loompa wearing 4 layers!
It's getting colder and I almost got frostbite from walking around in -13.
Is this normal? Because it seems like I'm the only one freezing my ass off!
I heard you can get "thermal clothing"? is this what everyones using?
So yeah, the basic question, how to withstand the cold like everyone else?

Chris.Quigley · Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Location: Belfast. N Ireland

Girls will do anything for love... Guys will do anything for money...
Australians... What do they do it for?

Vagabundo · Joined: 26 Aug 2010

Chris.Quigley · Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Location: Belfast. N Ireland

You are so cynical! haha Vagabundo

Radius · Joined: 20 Dec 2009

my gf said this is the coldest winter she can remember in her life. It's unseasonably cold. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio, and we get some mean winters there--and cold! But Korea seems much colder to me, it's more of a cut-right-through-you kind of cold. Probably because it's such dry air and much more windy than I'm used to.

Sleepy in Seoul · Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:44 pm Post subject:

You must be a sight, with your orange skin and dragging a donkey around with you. No wonder you're cold. Should have left the donkey at home.

interestedinhanguk · Joined: 23 Aug 2010

Stalin84 · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Location: Haebangchon, Seoul

I just flew in from Canada and found it to actually be much colder here. I was really hoping it'd be around 5C like it normally is in Korea and instead it's down to -10C. Annoying.

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Louis VI · Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom

Say "chjup-tah!" and "chjo-ah" a hundred times and hang out in a jim-jil-bang.

Caffeinated · Joined: 11 Feb 2010

You won't feel anything with your brain fried in soju.

redaxe · Joined: 01 Dec 2008

Listen to how many times in a day you hear the word "chuwo" and you will know just how good Koreans are at handling cold weather...

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

I've never noticed Koreans withstanding the cold well!! They constantly complain and overheat wherever they are.

johnnyrook · Joined: 08 Nov 2009

Op, I hear you brother. As a Brisbanite, it's my second winter here and it doesn't get any easier I'm afraid. I dunno how people can live their whole lives in these kinda climates without becoming extremely depressed. I often have the same experience you describe, when I'm standing at a bus stop dressed llike an eskimo, my teeth still wildly chattering, while other people don't seem bothered by it at all.

And btw dude, if you're from Queensland then the winter here isn't gonna end for you until May probably, although April will actually seem quite warm after Jan-March. Then you'll only have about five months to enjoy good weather until it starts getting cold again in October.

Illysook · Joined: 30 Jun 2008

You must be joking right?

My high school students come to class as if they were dressed for a blizzard. Puffy down coats and huge scarves up to their ears! The girls are forced to wear skirts as part of their school uniforms, so they perhaps they learn to bear having cold legs, but you can also buy tights that are fleece lined, so I think that they are not dressed as poorly as we tend to think. They also avoid going outside whenever possible.

I'm from Columbus, Ohio and I went to grad school at Central Michigan and I too think that Korean winters are very cold. I own about a dozen or so scarves, lots of sweaters and hoodies, and a couple of winter coats. Lately, I am favoring the very warmest ones.