"No matter how severe the heatwave is, we cannot postpone our inspection schedule," said Park, a 53-year-old home appliance inspector in a residential area of Majang-dong, Seongdong-gu, as he climbed up and down stairs without an elevator, with the peak temperature in Seoul soaring to 38°C (100°F) on the afternoon of the 3rd.

Wearing an ice pack around his neck and arm sleeves, Park rang the doorbell at his first inspection location with both hands full of water purifier sterilization tools.

Despite the sweltering weather that left him feeling drained, as soon as the door opened, Park cheerfully shouted, "I am here to inspect the water purifier," and skillfully began his work.

"Even if we freeze the ice packs solid, they only last an hour," Park said. "In the summer, radiant heat rises from the asphalt, making transit very difficult. We have to endure the scorching sunlight and monsoon rain with our bodies."

The inspection was finished in 15 minutes without a moment to cool down his sweat.

Working as an inspection worker for seven years, Park is well known for his fast hands.

After briefly breathing in the cool indoor air, Park loaded his tools onto his motorcycle and prepared to head straight to the next location.

"Inspections are scheduled at 20-minute intervals. I cannot be late," he said as he navigated through the alleys of Majang-dong.

Inspection workers use motorcycles for mobility.

"Passenger cars are inconvenient for narrow residential streets, so most inspectors use bicycles and motorcycles," Park said. "While motorcycles offer good mobility, they are extremely vulnerable to extreme heat."

The situation is no different for inspectors who drive passenger cars.

"We visit multiple homes consecutively, and we cannot leave the engine running every time," Park said. "Sometimes comments tell us to turn on the air conditioning, but parking fees and fuel costs are a burden. We receive 4,000 to 8,000 won per inspection, so we cannot keep the engine running continuously."

He calmly added, "At the end of last month, I went to a pharmacy and got medicine because I suffered from heat exhaustion. Even if I feel unwell, there is an inspection quota, and next month's schedule is fully booked by time slot, so I cannot postpone work because I am sick."

The second multi-family housing unit he arrived at also lacked an elevator.

After climbing the suffocating stairs, ringing the doorbell, and making a phone call, he could not reach the customer.

Waiting for a response for a long time on the blazing stairs, Park got back on his motorcycle, saying, "I have other schedules, so I will have to come back later."

Famously moving to his next inspection location, a sewing factory, in about two minutes without even looking at a map, Park finished the inspection without a moment to catch his breath and moved on to the next and subsequent locations.

When a customer came out to greet him at the fourth house he visited and shouted, "It is too hot. How can you work?" Park smiled brightly and climbed the stairs, saying, "This week, I just have to get through it pretending I am dead."

Having completed inspections at four locations in an hour, Park pushed open the sun-heated iron door, adjusted his helmet, and mounted the hot motorcycle saddle again.

"I have four children, so I do not show it even when it is hard. I have no choice because I have to make a living. People talk about labor laws these days, but they are practically difficult to uphold."

Moon, a 37-year-old worker met at a construction site in an alley of Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, where daytime temperatures hit 37°C (99°F) with a felt temperature of 36°C (97°F), wiped away his sweat as he spoke.

Even in weather where standing still causes a throbbing headache and streaming sweat, the sound of construction did not stop in alleys and construction sites everywhere.

Moon and other site workers wear safety helmets and carry equipment weighing well over 10 kg around their waists, working a full 10 hours from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Although there are breaks in between, he explained that they must continue working past 1:00 PM, which is the time slot most vulnerable to heat.

"We have to finish within the given time, so there are no conditions for resting," Moon said, conveying the reality of having to struggle amidst the extreme heat. "Even if it is hot, we have no choice but to do it."

Electric fans provided to cool off are a luxury for busy workers.

"If I stand in front of a fan, it looks like I am not working and playing, so I rest while worrying about how others perceive me," Moon said. "There is no such thing as taking scheduled breaks just because we are told to."

Even as outdoor workers continue to die from heat-related illnesses, site workers reacted by saying, "We are used to the heat."

Park Se-chung, director of occupational safety and health at the Korean Construction Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said, "Construction companies with financial leeway are in a slightly better situation, but small-scale sites remain in poor conditions."

He pointed out, "Although the right to suspend work during extreme heatwaves and the mandate for a 20-minute break every two hours are legislated, we still have to rely on the goodwill of site managers or construction companies. More meticulous and definitive systems must be established to guarantee the right to health."

Aside from home inspection workers and construction laborers, outdoor workers endure extreme heat throughout the city.

A home-visiting learning tutor surnamed Ahn said, "During summer vacation, children frequently go out unexpectedly. Every time a lesson is suddenly canceled, I spend time outside until the next lesson, and these days it is so hot that waiting is a torment."

Ahn shared, "It is so hot that I stay in unmanned cafes, but I am troubled because I have to pay 3,000 won for coffee every time. I constantly think it would be nice to have a space where I can briefly go inside and rest coolly when it is hot."

Cargo truck driving laborers face the same situation.

Park Jae-ha, policy and publicity director for the Cargo Transport Workers Solidarity under the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, stated, "The industry itself is aging, and because they operate outdoors, they are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. Situations arise where drivers have to climb onto trucks 3 meters high, and many collapse and get hurt due to the heat."

He revealed, "We cannot even keep the air conditioning on due to worries about fuel costs. Since the structure pays money according to the volume of cargo, choosing immediate coolness directly impacts our income."

Experts agree that extreme heat is practically threatening the health of outdoor workers.

Hwang Seung-sik, a professor at the Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health who has pointed out the seriousness of extreme heatwaves, emphasized, "I intuitively feel that accidents will happen soon under the influence of extreme heat if safety is not properly managed. Severe alerts must be dealt with severely, as the name implies."

He added, "We must ban outdoor work during vulnerable time slots, and if problems occur while working, punishments should match the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. Practical enforcement by policy authorities is necessary."

(Photo: Yonhap News)