The subway train was cool, but as soon as I got off, I felt the heat all over my body. It seems like the air conditioning is on at the platform, but the heat is suffocating. Why is it so hot?
Around 11:50 a.m. on the 23rd, a college student surnamed Kwon (23) said this while wiping the beads of sweat on his forehead at the subway Line 2 Hongdae Station platform. On that day, the temperature measured inside the Line 2 train was 25.1 degrees. However, in the Hongdae Station waiting room, the thermometer reached 31.2 degrees. At that time, the temperature measured by the Korea Meteorological Administration in Mapo District was 31.1 degrees. Although the air conditioning was on in the Hongdae Station waiting room, it was so hot that I sweat even after standing still for just 5 minutes.
◇The indoor standard temperature is 27-29 degrees, while the City Hall Station waiting room was 30.2 degrees
As the persistent heat continues, complaints among citizens using the Seoul subway that "the subway stations are too hot" are increasing. While some places do not have air conditioning, even those equipped with it feel as hot as outside. The Seoul Transport Corporation, which operates the subway, stated that while air conditioning is in operation within the stations, the internal temperature can be high when the outside temperature is high or when there are many passengers.
According to the notice from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the indoor temperature of Seoul subway stations should be maintained between 27 and 29 degrees. However, on the 23rd, when the indoor temperatures were measured at five stations including Hongdae Station, City Hall Station, Euljiro Entrance Station, Myeongdong Station, and Gangnam Station, the temperature exceeded the set range by 1 to 3 degrees at four of those locations. Myeongdong Station was the only one at 28 degrees.
The waiting room at City Hall Station, visited around 12:20 p.m. that day, was measured at 30.2 degrees. After observing the waiting room for 10 minutes, I saw about 20 citizens cooling off using fans or portable air conditioners, even though the air conditioning was operational. One citizen even remarked, "Hasn't the station been built so long that there's no air conditioning?" Office worker surnamed Lee (34) said, "I'm trying to avoid the hot sunlight and catch the air conditioning breeze while passing through the underground hall, but it feels cooler outside."
At Gangnam Station, the heat from the LED advertising boards added to the discomfort. At around 1:50 p.m. that day, the measured temperature at the platform was 29.8 degrees. An office worker surnamed A stated, "I came from Daegu for a business trip, but I didn't know the Seoul subway was this hot. I was just sticking to the air conditioning."
◇"Is the air conditioning really operating?" Complaints have increased by 70% in two years
According to the Seoul Transport Corporation, complaints about "the station being hot inside" increased from 752 in 2022 to 998 in 2023, and last year it reached 1,274, nearly a 70% increase over two years. By June this year alone, 128 complaints have already been received. A company official noted, "The air conditioning facilities inside the station are operating normally," adding, "This year's heat has arrived earlier than usual, and when the outside temperature is high and passenger usage is high, the internal station temperature can rise above 30 degrees."
The situation is more serious at subway stations that lack any air conditioning. Out of 276 subway stations in Seoul, 51 (18.5%) have no cooling facilities. While 25 stations are above ground, 26 (9.4%) are underground and yet still lack cooling facilities. These include Ahyeon Station and Chungjeongno Station on Line 2, and Anguk Station and Jamwon Station on Line 4, as well as Seoul Station on Line 4. There were no provisions for cooling facilities when the subway was built in the 1970s and 1980s, and subsequent renovations have not been made.
Complaints demanding "please install air conditioning" have been consistently raised, but the Seoul Transport Corporation has only equipped three locations with cooling facilities over the past decade. The installation at Jamsilsaenae Station was completed in 2021 at a cost of 38.3 billion won, and in 2022, Miasageori Station and Ssangmun Station were completed with a total expenditure of 73.4 billion won. Meanwhile, as material and labor costs have risen, it is estimated that installing cooling facilities in one underground station this year will cost around 64 billion won. To equip all 26 underground stations with cooling facilities, a total of 1.66 trillion won is needed.