Riding the Heat Wave

This past Thursday, Seoul and the rest of the nation participated in an emergency blackout drill.  From 14:00 - 14:20, all citizens and businesses were asked to turn off all the electricity and prepare for what they would do if there was indeed a power outage. 

At school, my two co-teachers and I sat in the dark eating ice cream.  Twenty minutes later we went back to our desks and resumed our work on the computers.

I don't know how one can really prepare for a power outage, especially for large-sized farms and businesses, a loss will be had no matter what, but I think the government wants to put the idea in people's heads that it is a possibility.  We've had hardly any rain this year and the heat has been high for the last few weeks, so people have been turning on the ACs non-stop and earlier this year. As a result the national energy level is dwindling dangerously low.  My school in an effort to preserve energy has made a rule that the AC can't be turned on unless it is over 27 degrees (C) (80.6 F) and between the hours of 11am and 2pm. 

As a way to combat the heat, officials in Seoul have suggested a change to the office dress code. Check out the mayor of Seoul below, sporting his colorful, casual summer office wear.  (Such a cute smile!)  For the first time, according to BBC News, government workers have been given permission to come to work in shorts and sandals.

Seoul's mayor Park Won-Soon has promoted casual business for the summer, while Lee, Myung-Bak, the South Korean President, sweats it out in a black and formal suit below--typical business attire in SK.