It’s hot here in Korea. But nothing really out of the ordinary. Summers here have always been hot. It’s just that now that we have air conditioning (that is massively overused and inefficient), we think 90 degrees with humidity is a “thing.”
It’s not. It’s pretty much like it ever was. Sure, we’ve got “la Niña,” or whatever is going on now to heat up the States so much. But it’s happened before. How do I know? Well, whenever I see an article that says “this is the first time we’ve had 110+ degree days for this long since 1949,” I know that they had 110+ degree days for this long in 1949. Yeah, climate change is probably a thing. But weather is also a thing…that happens.
One could say the same about the flooding Korea experienced a week ago. Is this the first time Korea has experienced flooding like this? Of course not. I remember well every few summers hearing about some farmer getting swept away, or some landslide taking out a highway. It happens. Quite often, actually. There’s always something going on somewhere, and if one were to just focus on the bad things in all of those particular places, one would think it’s the norm. One might tend to panic.
I don’t understand enough about climate and earth studies and oceanography to be able to say one way or another by myself. I’ll listen to the scientists who do know, and I’ll believe their data. I won’t listen to a politician tell me anything. I know their angle — whatever they say is based in the realm of money and power, so they’re going to say that which gets them the most of each, and keeps them there. I mean, just because someone elected them doesn’t mean they actually know what they’re talking about.
I bring this up though to talk about the meal I had at a nearby restaurant for lunch today — 닭백숙 — whole chicken soup. It’s a classic, and the kind of chicken they use — 통닭 — is a chewy bird…but that’s a good thing. I enjoyed the food, and I enjoyed the atmosphere, and here’s what I was getting at through that long introduction: as I stepped outside, I enjoyed the heat and humidity. It brought back memories of stepping outside of country restaurants 35 years ago, before the age of A/C; hot, sweaty, and massively satisfied at the adventure of it all. Good memories of the Korea I loved before in a Korea that I still do…
