How to Navigate Poor Air Quality in Seoul, South Korea

Something I didn’t realize until we had moved to Seoul is that the air quality is pretty rough during certain parts of the year.

Let’s break it down by season:

Spring by far is the worst for air quality, which adds insult to injury because the buds on the trees are lovely and the weather is finally warming up after the bitter cold of winter!

Winter tends to be the second worst, with late summer and fall often bringing the cleanest and freshest air (though of course there are always exceptions).

If you work full time indoors it may not be that big of a deal for you. However, if you enjoy spending a lot of time in nature or have young kids or pets that need to get out their energy regularly…

How can you tell?

You can download apps that tell you what the levels are that day (on my app that I used green = great, yellow = ok, and red/purple = bad).

After living in Seoul for awhile, we could just look out our window and tell if the air pollution was high or low that day, based on visibility.

This was clearly a very good day- we could see all the way out to Namsan Tower and the sky was very blue!

What are the negative effects?

I’ll tell you all about my personal experience, and then back it all up with some research.

If I went outside and spent a decent amount of time on a day with high levels (whether before checking the AQI or just because I needed to move outdoors despite the levels) I would start to get a headache and a scratchy throat. This could last for a few days at a time.

Luckily, this seemed to be the extent of it for me personally. However, I know the effects can be greater on those more susceptible or over longer periods of time.

Here’s what the research says:

Strong, healthy people with no known pre-existing medical conditions can be affected by air pollution. The effects may be mild symptoms of coughing and wheezing or irritated eyes. Skin irritations can happen too depending on the specific pollutants suspended in the air…

Prolonged exposure may lead to the faster ageing of the lung tissue which leads to a loss in capacity and thus functionality.Diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer are more prevalent in heavily polluted cities.

IQAir.com — source

Who is at the greatest risk?

The following groups are at higher risk (read more in this article to learn about the specific risks and research):

• babies, toddlers, and children under 14
• pregnant women
• senior citizens and the elderly

I definitely tried to be more cautious with time spent outdoors on high-pollution days when I was pregnant. (Are you pregnant and living in Korea? Read all about my childbirth experience in Seoul!)

What CAN you do?

All hope is not lost, though. You can minimize the effects by:

1. getting an air purifier for your home/apartment (we did this after about a year of living in Seoul)
2. wearing a mask on days when it’s bad (luckily COVID has broken down a lot of social barriers for this, but Koreans have always been game to wear masks on high pollution days or even when they have a cold! So smart.)
3. maximize your time outdoors on healthy air days (take advantage when the sky is blue!)

That’s it!

I hope this was helpful information to you! If so, be sure to read my other articles all about expat life in Korea, too! A few are listed here, but tons more can be found under the main tab “Korea and Expat Life”.

Cover Photo by Ethan Brooke on Unsplash