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Air Pollution in South Korea !1

Air Pollution in South Korea

Sonita Tan

California State University, Long Beach

Air Pollution in South Korea !2

Introduction

According to an index of air quality from Yale University, South Korea ranked 173rd out

of 180 countries. South Korea suffers greatly from air pollution such as smog, but more

importantly from particulate matter that blankets most of South Korea’s major cities and as a

result, the health of many Koreans have deteriorated over the years due to breathing polluted air

on the daily basis. In the Seoul region, there are approximately 1,246 people who have “died

from short-term exposure to particulate matter less than or equal to 10 µm in diameter(PM10) in

2010” (Ha, Jongsik). There are many days of out the year where the level of particulate matter in

South Korea is high or dangerously high and this is due to dust and sand being blown from China

and from local industrial sites, power plants, and vehicle emissions. Since air pollution has many

negative effects on humans and our environment, this paper intends to increase awareness about

the negative externalities and positive externalities in reducing air pollution in South Korea.

Forms of Air Pollution

Air pollution is pollutants in the air that is harmful to humans and the environment. There

are many different types of air pollution but smog, greenhouse gases, and particulate matter are

the common types of air pollution. Smog is composed of ozone, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides

and dirt particles that are visible in the air to the naked eyes. Greenhouse gases consist of ozone,

carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane that absorbs longwave radiation and emits shortwave

radiation. Greenhouse gases lead to warmer temperatures and that leads to “rising sea levels,

heat-related deaths, and increasing transmissions of infectious diseases” ( Mackenzie, Jillian).

Air Pollution in South Korea !3

Particulate matter is a mixture of small particles and liquid droplets and its “major components

are sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium, chloride, black carbon, mineral dust, and water” (World

Health Organization). There are two types of particulate matter; PM10 and PM2.5. PM10 are

inhalable coarse particles that come from windblown dust and sand and construction sites. While

PM2.5 are microparticles that are emitted from “fuel combustion, industry, households or

biomass burning” which is most damaging to the humans (Worth Health Organization). It poses

the greatest threat to the human health as it is invisible and can easily penetrate deep into

people’s lung and bloodstream. Other symptoms include cancer, birth defects, premature deaths,

and even mental illness such as depressions that could ultimately lead to suicide. Particulate

matter is responsible for nearly “4.2 million premature deaths worldwide per year in 2016” as it

causes cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases (World Health Organization).

Air Pollution in South Korea

On many of days out of the year, the pollution level in Seoul is comparable to China’s

main cities which are considered unhealthy for the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing

respiratory conditions. From March to May, strong wind carry tiny sand and dust particles from

the desert located in Northern China onto Korea causing pollution to rise in the Spring and

generally decline during the Summer. Furthermore, it also brings industrial pollutants from China

to Korea, worsening Korea’s air quality. Consequently, PM10 concentration in major cities rises

due to dust and sand being blown from China. While many Koreans blame China for their poor

air quality, local vehicle emissions, power plants, and factories in South Korea contribute far

more greatly to air pollution. On the daily basis, they are inhaling an unsafe amount of

Air Pollution in South Korea !4

particulate matter which resulted with “more than 20,000 premature deaths in 2013” and

furthermore suicides “have been empirically linked to particulate matter and other concentrations

of air pollutants like tropospheric ozone” (Mosteller, David).

Current and Future Policies in South Korea

Air pollution, mainly particulate matter has officially become a problem for South

Koreans ever since 2013 and as a result, there has been an increase in public awareness and

regulations to help decrease the poor air quality. The Korean government hopes to reduce the risk

of air pollution by developing a “warning system with behavioral guidelines” (Baek, Deokrye).

Notifications are sent out to Koreans when the level of particulate matter is relatively high in the

air and a warning is sent to the public “when the PM level is expected to be above 500 µm/m3 for

more than two hours in a day” (Baek, Deokrye). The government sends out notifications in

hoping that individuals such as the elderly, children, people with pre-existing illnesses, and

pregnant women to limit outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible. In Seoul,

“officials waived public transport fees during commuter hours as the daily average density of

ultrafine dust remained above 50 micrograms per cubic meter” (Chandran, Nyshka). On days

with dangerously high pollutants in the air, construction work is reduced and officials

implemented the odd-even car rationing in hopes to limit the number of cars driven on the streets

of Seoul. As of 2017, “Seoul will ban certain old diesel vehicles from its roads unless they are

fitted with filters and drivers who scrap such cars will also be given subsidies for new

ones” (Bad Air Days).

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South Korea is motivated to improve their quality by strengthening regulation on diesel

vehicles, closing down the country’s oldest coal plants, replace coal with other environmental

friendly fuels, and replacing old diesel buses with natural gas vehicles. Since many Koreans are

not willing to give up their cars even when air pollution is high, the government will encourage

people to switch to environmentally friendly cars by providing incentives.

Air Pollution in South Korea !6

Works Cited

"Bad Air Days; ...and Sooty South Korea." The Economist Aug 27 2016: 44,n/a. ProQuest. Web.

3 Aug. 2018 .

Baek, Deokrye, et al. “Chinese Yellow Dust and Korean Infant Health.” 2015, doi:10.3386/

w21613.

Chandran, Nyshka. “Seoul Announces Free Public Transport to Battle Rising Smog.” CNBC,

CNBC, 16 Jan. 2018, www.cnbc.com/2018/01/15/smog-coated-south-korea-declares-

pollution-emergency.html

Ha, Jongsik. “Applying Policy and Health Effects of Air Pollution in South Korea: Focus on

Ambient Air Quality Standards.” Environmental Health and Toxicology, vol. 29, 2014,

doi:10.5620/eht.e2014011.

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Hu, Elise. “Armed With NASA Data, South Korea Confronts Its Choking Smog.” NPR, NPR, 10

Oct. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2017/10/10/552264719/armed-with-nasa-data-

south-korea-confronts-its-choking-smog.

Mackenzie, Jillian. “Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know.” NRDC, 15 June 2018,

www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know.

Mosteller, Donald. “Air Pollution's Hazy Future in South Korea.” Data-Driven Yale, 30 June

2016, datadriven.yale.edu/air-quality-2/air-pollutions-hazy-future-in-south-korea-2/.

Park, et al. “The Effects of Air Pollution on Mortality in South Korea.” Procedia Environmental

Sciences, vol. 26, no. C, 2015, pp. 62–65.

World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/.