Korean Peculiarities: Slippery Sidewalks

Korea is wet for roughly 4-6 months of the year. There is an average of 44.6 inches of precipitation a year in Daejeon, which is about seven inches more than Portland. July is the wettest month, with just over 9 inches of rain. Korean summer rain is not like Portland rain. Portland drizzles, conserving water to make an entire week miserable. Korea streamlines this process and uses the same amount of water in an afternoon. I stay drier in the shower. Umbrellas are helpful, but your pants and shoes still get soaked.

Winter has snow and ice. This snow and ice is also different than home. It's dry, powdery snow. Useless for snowballs, but fun to kick around. Since it's fairly cold and Koreans care so little about playing in the snow that two weeks after the initial snowfall, I can still find clean snow to jump around in.

Now you're educated on Korean precipitation. Korea = generally wet weather. Please take a minute and pretend you are a city planner presented with the task of choosing a proper sidewalk design and appropriate materials. Concrete? Brick? Maybe the cushy crushed up tires? Certainly not granite or any other slick material, right?

Wrong. Meet your doom.

It's lovely to look at, but deadly as soon as any moisture is introduced. Or even without proper treaded shoes in dry weather. Perhaps this is the origin of the Korean Shuffle Walk.

It's not uncommon to see people slipping on the street. Korean women's shoes are very cute and fun, but none too practical on slick sidewalks. I have flailed about a bit, but have yet to fall. It snowed again today and earlier I tried to walk into a restaurant only to find I couldn't make it up the slight incline to the door. After several embarrassing attempts, I finally made it to the steep metal ramp in front of the door. Then I struggled again. In the end, I just jumped up to the top of the ramp and in through the door.

The sidewalks have been iced for weeks now, the layer growing thicker with each new snowfall. I'm taking bets on how thick it will get before Spring time. My guess is a solid two, maybe three inches. Hopefully I won't fall on my ass. I'm sure I will, though. With these slippery sidewalks, it's inevitable.