Gaeumari Village in Hongje-dong, Seodaemun-gu, considered Seoul's last remaining daldongnae (poor hillside neighborhood).
Old houses are densely packed together.
[Reporter Kim Min-jun: I am near the very top of the village. I walked all the way up from the entrance myself, and because the slope is so steep, sweat pours from my whole body after just a short walk. But as you can see, there are no proper parks or shaded areas to take a break.]
Measured with a thermal imaging camera, the roof temperature approaches 66°C (151°F).
[Nearby Resident: Oh, it's hot. We can't breathe. Because the ceilings are thin and poorly insulated like that. In the evening, the heat beats down.]
The heat vulnerability of detached houses is about 1.4 times that of multi-family housing like apartments. This is because vacant lots and roads around the houses are covered with asphalt or cement, preventing heat from escaping easily.
Apartment complexes in Gangnam, Seoul, are in a different situation.
Green spaces created throughout provide shade and absorb heat, making it much cooler than areas dense with old housing.
[Nearby Resident: It's naturally cooler. Just a moment ago, while walking here, heat waves were shimmering off the asphalt. Coming here, it's at least a bit cooler.]
The severity of the heatwave felt varies greatly depending on the residential environment. In July, the number of days with an average apparent temperature of 35°C (95°F) or higher averaged 8.4 days for the top 10 neighborhoods, compared to 0.8 days for the bottom 10 neighborhoods, showing a difference of over 10 times.
Areas with high apparent temperatures were mostly dense with old housing and downtown areas, while the bottom areas were mostly locations with large apartment complexes surrounded by green spaces.
Experts advise that responses to heatwaves, such as expanding green spaces on public land and improving the residential environment for vulnerable groups, must be carried out in a comprehensive manner.
[Bae Woong-gyu, Professor of Urban Systems Engineering at Chung-Ang University: We should remove walls if possible, and trees must be present so that as they sway, pathways for wind movement are formed.
We need to make improvements in a way that allows trapped heat to escape.] Detailed measures tailored to residential environments are needed so that the intense heat is not felt differently depending on where people live.
"10 Times Worse on Hot Days"... Why the Same Heatwave Feels Different (August 3, 2026, 8 News)
Reported by Kim Min-jun | Written by Bae Jun-hwi | Filmed by Lee Sang-hak, Kang Si-woo | Edited by Kim Jun-hee | Design by Park Cheon-woong | Produced by SBS Digital News
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