Summer is now in full swing. Major heat waves around the world are making headlines. Like the rest of the world, Korea has been undergoing extreme weather patterns.

Today let me introduce you to some common Korean idioms about heat waves.

1. 찜통 더위

As you can see, the photo below 찜통 shows a steamer. I thought this expression was very similar to the English one, which is “it is as hot as an oven outside.”

We say “찜통 더위다”. This expression can also be used for a weather forecast on news, like 찜통 더위가 계속 될 전망입니다, meaning “the steaming hot weather is expected to continue over the next few days.”

2. 더위를 타다

It can be directly translated to “to ride heat”.

If you are sensitive to hot weather, or if you normally find that you are the hottest in the room while everyone else is at a comfortable temperature, you can say “제가 더위를 잘 타요”.

3. 냉방병

This word can be directly translated to “air conditioning sickness” or “cold sickness.”

Let’s suppose someone spent too long under the AC and feels tired, dizzy and has a stomachache. Then we can say “it may be caused by 냉방병”.

4. 열대야

열대야 means Tropical Night.

If the temperature stays above 25 degrees Celsius at night, it is difficult to sleep comfortably. In this circumstance, we can say, “열대야 때문에 어제 잠을 잘 못 잤어”, meaning “I couldn’t sleep well last night because of a tropical night.”

Note: If you can’t stand the hot weather but if you don’t have an AC, the ‘무더위 쉼터’ or “Heat Shelter” is always open to the public. More than 800 heat shelters are made available by the city government. They are located at the주민센터 (district office) and the 경로당 (Senior Center).