"No One Is Outside"... Stores Brought to a Standstill by Heatwave

[Anchor]

With the relentless heatwave, record-breaking temperatures continue day after day. Today (August 4), the temperature in Seoul rose to 36.9°C (98°F), breaking the record for the highest temperature of this year. The heavy heatwave warning has been expanded to all of Seoul, and is in effect in various parts of Incheon, Gyeonggi Province, and the Jeolla regions. Yesterday alone, 186 heat-related illness patients were reported, the highest daily figure of this year, and the death toll has risen to 19. With the heat reaching disaster levels, citizens' daily lives are growing increasingly exhausted.

First, reporter Jeong Jiyeon toured a traditional market.

[Reporter]

A traditional market in Seoul.

It should be a time bustling with customers, but the streets are quiet.

Viewed through a thermal imaging camera, the entire market is dyed in red.

[Ahn Soon-hwa / Gangseo-gu, Seoul: I have to go quickly. Even if I want to buy more, I can't walk around. It's so hot I don't know what to do.]

The temperature in the market has now exceeded 38°C (100°F).

Without a roof, it is directly exposed to sunlight.

In front of shops that use fire, it is even hotter, to the point where sweat pours down just by standing there for a moment.

Merchants are letting out more sighs.

[Jung Im-pyo / Traditional Market Merchant: If we turn on a fan, the fish dries out, so we just manage it with ice. We use 20 or 30 blocks of ice a day even if we can't use them up... We have no choice but to endure it like this.]

With the weather being so hot, an increasing number of people are choosing online delivery instead of visiting the market.

[Lee Jin-soo / Gangseo-gu, Seoul: I tend to order online a bit more. For fresh food, since it's so hot here anyway, it might spoil a bit while moving around.]

The university area in Sinchon, which is normally always packed with young people.

People's footsteps have completely stopped amid the scorching sun.

The store is empty, but the air conditioner cannot be turned off.

[Son Richi / Chicken Restaurant Owner: We are currently running 3 air conditioners and 6 fans in our store. From the perspective of a small business owner, dealing with the burden of electricity bills and customers not coming in is a double whammy.]

Experts point out that considering the heatwave situation reaching disaster levels, tangible support such as cooling cost subsidies for small business owners is urgently needed.

[Ryu Pil-sun / Specialist Advisor, Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise: Measures to ease the burden of electricity bills are needed, such as allowing credit card payments for small business owners' electricity bills or providing partial tax refunds.]

The worries of merchants, compounded by abruptly cut-off customers and soaring cooling bill concerns, are expected to deepen for a while longer.

(Photo courtesy of Kim Nam-sung | Video Editing: Lee Seung-yeol | VJ: Noh Jae-min)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.