I'm losing my hair!!

No, I'm not. However, I want to talk about pollution in Seoul, as well as Asia...

There is a popular myth in Korea and especially in Seoul. It sounds just as silly as it is, but the real issue is its very exsistence. People are told this and they believe it and move on. They do not address the problem. The myth is that "Rain makes you lose your hair". They say it's because of acid rain. I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not, so I did some sleuthing.

Here's what I have figured out:

During the first two decades of Korea's economic boom, there was little atention paid to the damaging effects of rapid industrializtion on the environment. It was not until the 1980's that Korea began paying close attention to the environment, but the problems have arisen so quickly, that the Korean government has not been able to manage all of them. One of the arising problems in connection with rapid industrialization is acid rain. Factory smoke and automobile exhaust fumes contribute to most of it. Although China is the largest producer of sulfur dioxide emissions in Asia accounting for 60 million tons of SO2 emissions in 2004, South Korea is also a major producer of SO2.

The main issue concerning South Korea, and Japan also, is the environmental pollution caused by China's rapid economic growth crossing the boundaries into these two countries. The weather in China has an impact on Japan and South Korea. Yellow sand caused by industrial pollution in China is blown from China (and Mongolia) to Seoul causing hazardous air pollution. (Aaron said this happened in the late winter and early spring. I might have to buy a cool little mask.) Plants which grow only in heavily polluted areas have appeared in Seoul and nearby towns, indicating how serious environmental pollution is in Korea. Acid rain in the Pacific region is affecting cultural symbols, destroying vegetation, polluting oceans and affecting wildlife. Bilateral legislation between Korea and Japan, Japan and China, and Korea and China have been established. Agreements between these countries are in progress towards improving the environment of the Pacific Region. Environmental problems such as acid rain which extend beyond national boundaries are becoming an increasingly common phenomena. Acid raid reduces visibility, pollutes lakes and streams, destroying fish and other forms of life. Air pollution in rapidly industrializing China is believed to be responsible for acid rain in East Asia. In earlier years it was thought that acid rain only occurred in North America and Europe, however damage is spreading to such a degree that denial is no longer an option for the Asian region. (Trust me, they would still deny it if they could.)

Three of the world's five most polluted cities -- Beijing, Seoul and Shanghai --lie in the direction from which Japan's prevailing winds come from November through April. Japanese officials feel that China and Korea are developing at such high speeds that pollutants associated with acid rain are increasingly having some effect on Japan.


So, is the myth true? I couldn't find out. I don't feel great about living in such a polluted city, but let's see where I've lived so far.


Nashville didn't make the list of 50 most polluted cities in the US, but guess who did.

Knoxville, TN is the ninth most polluted in the country and then right after that is old Cincinnati. Cinci holds the title of number 10. Seoul is in the top 20. That's gross.

Last Friday, we were on a field trip to "Seoul Forest". Don't get excited or anything. It should have been called "Seoul Water Treatment Plant" because that dominated our sight. So, on the way to the park we were in the bus with the kids and I was looking at the Han river. A thick haze hung over it making it hard to see the bridges that span the wide river, let alone the other side of the water. I asked Dinah if this was normal and I got a typical response, "I don't know."

How could someone not care about something as sacred as the earth and the air we all breathe. The weather just changed last weekend. It was still grazing the eighties until Friday night when a storm came through. It cleared out the air. I was walking to school on Monday and was about the cross the road when I noticed the huge mountains surrounding Seoul. I knew they were there, but I couldn't ever see the detail like I could then. Today it was the same.

Maybe it'll clear out for a few weeks and I'll be able to enjoy the outside world and see beyond the drab city...