▲ Morning in a highland city 700 meters above sea level
While the rest of the country suffers from relentless heatwaves day and night and power consumption hits record highs, high-altitude highland cities in Gangwon Province, reaching up to 900 meters above sea level, show a contrasting trend where power usage does not increase significantly.
According to an analysis of residential power consumption data by city, county, and district from 2021 to 2025 released by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) on the 8th, power usage in Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Pyeongchang among the 18 cities and counties in the province did not exceed winter heating demand (December to February) even during the peak summer cooling season (June to August).
In particular, Taebaek's summer usage remained at the 80 percent level of winter for all five years.
Jeongseon and Pyeongchang also hovered around 80 to 90 percent.
While the remaining cities and counties saw their summer usage soar up to 120 percent of winter levels to peak annually, these cities showed higher power consumption in winter, moving in the opposite direction of the nationwide surge in cooling demand.
An employee working at KEPCO's Taebaek branch said, "Among Taebaek residents, you can often hear people say they live without turning on air conditioners in the summer, and that there are no mosquitoes and nights are cool," adding, "In fact, there are more inquiries and complaints about electricity bills in winter than in summer."
"Although households installing air conditioners are increasing as recent heatwaves become more frequent, cooling demand is still not as large compared to other regions," the employee added. "A characteristic of Taebaek is that if you go just a little outside the downtown area, the evenings definitely become cool."
The high proportion of elderly residents is also cited as a factor for low power consumption.
It is analyzed that living without turning on air conditioners has become a habit, which likely influenced the lack of a significant increase in usage.
Another employee who worked at the Taebaek branch for about 10 years from the early 2000s recalled, "While there are air conditioners in the offices and official residences now, they weren't there when I was working."
In fact, KEPCO's Taebaek branch installed an air conditioner in its auditorium only this year.
A Taebaek branch employee explained, "Even if there were budget issues, if the need had been great, it would have been installed immediately, but it seems there wasn't much need felt until now."
The employee added, "Even now, if you go to the Taebaek Cool Cinema Festival, an outdoor movie festival, blankets and thin padding are essential," and "Although people say it's hot this year, it still seems bearable."
This difference is also confirmed in meteorological data.
From 2021 to this year, Taebaek's average number of heatwave days (days with a daily maximum temperature of 33°C (91°F) or higher) has been merely 0.3 days in June, 1.8 days in July, and 2.2 days in August.
Tropical nights stood at zero.
During the same period, Jeongseon's average number of heatwave days was 4.3 days in June, 13 days in July, and 11.5 days in August, which is higher than Taebaek, but the average number of tropical nights was only 0.5 days each in July and August.
In Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang, the recorded heatwave days from 2021 to this year were limited to just 2 days in July of last year, and there were no tropical nights at all.
Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Pyeongchang show relatively cool weather even in summer due to their high altitudes and topography.
Taebaek's entire city stands at a high altitude of about 650 to 900 meters above sea level, while Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong is about 830 meters above sea level, and Jeongseon Gohan and Sabuk reach 700 to 900 meters above sea level.
In general, temperatures drop by 0.65°C (1.17°F) for every 100-meter increase in altitude.
The fact that the ground surface warmed during the day cools down quickly during the night is also cited as one of the reasons for the cool climate.
Clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere are known to reduce radiative cooling, but high-altitude mountainous regions have clear and dry air, leading to active radiative cooling where surface heat easily escapes.
In addition, while cities experience an urban heat island effect where asphalt and concrete release heat absorbed during the day even at night, compounded by artificial heat generated from cars and air conditioners to keep temperatures higher than surrounding areas, these regions experience little heat island effect, which is another factor contributing to their cool weather.
Kim Chang-hwan, a professor of geography education at Kangwon National University, explained, "Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Pyeongchang are highland flat surface regions developed along the Baekdudaegan mountain range, characterized by lower temperatures than lowlands due to their high altitude." He added, "When easterly winds blow across the Taebaeksan Mountains into the Yeongseo region, a foehn effect occurs where temperatures rise, but these three regions maintain a cool climate even in summer because their altitudes are high enough to be unaffected by this."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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