Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

Coming from Canada we thought that a winter with lows of only -10C would be a walk in the park compared to our lows of -40C.  In Ulsan there is often no snowfall in winter.  On PEI we can wake up to find that our car has disappeared under a blanket of fresh snow.  The Korean winter certainly did look good on paper when we were deciding to come to Korea and escape the winter cold.

One thing we didn’t factor in was how brilliantly Canadians have adapted to the severity of our winter.  We have fully insulated houses, central heating systems, and fireplaces that keep us completely comfortable.  Our cars are equipped with remote starters so that the cabin area can be nice and warm when you get in, or if you’re lucky you can park your car inside your (sometimes heated) garage.  You really don’t have to experience winter temperatures for very long at all if you plan properly.

In Korea we’ve found that the buildings are not so well insulated.  Most of the public buildings (restaurants, schools, etc.) lack a central heating system and rely solely on electric convection heaters.  This means everybody spends a lot of time in their ‘outdoor winter aparrel’.  Our apartment building is also not really insulated very well.  The front doors are generally wide open and the halls and elevator are not heated or insulated in any way.  Our apartment does have underfloor heating that seems only to have 2 settings – wide open heat or none at all.  We can run the heat and sweat it out or we can bundle up and get through it.  We don’t have a car so we have to walk to public transit and when you get where you’re going there will likely be no heat.  There is very little reprieve from the cold.

Don’t get me wrong – I certainly don’t miss the shoveling and slippery road conditions but I do miss having the option to be comfortably warm.  In hindsight we should have just thought a little bit more about what really keeps us warm at home.  The temperature is irrelevant compared to proper insulation techniques and planning.  It’s merely interesting to note how different countries and cultures adapt to their climate.