[Inside Chodong] Jellyfish and the Air Conditioning Class

Over 20 Deaths from Heat-Related Illnesses
Jellyfish Swarms Invade Coastal Waters

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the way to work, I transfer once at a notoriously crowded transfer station. To move quickly, I look for the car with the easiest transfer, but that place is a silent battlefield. From the moment the announcement for the transfer station is made, the population density near the entrance increases, and the faces of the people there show a determination like sprinters standing at the starting line of a 100-meter dash. When the doors open with a bang, the crowd literally pours out. You have to stay alert. If you zone out, you might get pushed and fall.

As usual, I was heading to work, but that day, even the air in the subway felt different. It was so quiet and comfortable that I wondered if I had gotten on the wrong car. It was the same at the transfer station. The usual morning commute, where I would see three or four people pushing and overtaking even when I hurried as if running, felt so relaxed that I wondered if Thanos had snapped his fingers. Why? Ah, it’s the Gwangbokjeol sandwich day. So the commute can be this calm. For some, this comfortable commute might be everyday life, while others face a battlefield even harsher than usual every day.

Even after barely cooling off in the subway that fiercely blows cold air, I sweat buckets at the intense transfer station, then back to the fierce subway, then the scorching streets, and finally the cool office. On this usual hot and cold commute, I thought that as global warming intensifies, the 'air conditioning class' will become more distinct. In fact, this is already a reality. Due to this year’s unusually scorching heat, the number of deaths from heat-related illnesses has already exceeded twenty, with many of them occurring at workplaces.

Although I couldn’t rest on the sandwich day and worked, I took advantage of the weekend after work to visit the East Coast for the first time in a while. As someone who loves water activities regardless of pools, valleys, or the sea, I couldn’t leave out sea swimming from my summer trip to Gangwon-do, so I started by searching for beaches before leaving. While imagining the blue and clear sea, unexpectedly large, soft, and transparent creatures appeared one after another. After looking up articles, I found out they were 'Nomura’s jellyfish.' I recalled a junior who recently visited the sea off Gampo, Gyeongbuk, saying that jellyfish were floating around, so the children could only play in the sand. Some individuals reach 1 to 2 meters in diameter, with total lengths including tentacles exceeding 5 meters. A single sting can cause swelling, fever, muscle paralysis, breathing difficulties, and shock symptoms?truly frightening creatures. After the rainy season, the heatwave continued, causing jellyfish swarms to infest coastal areas nationwide. Usually, 20 to 40 jellyfish are found per hectare (10,000㎡), but last month’s survey by the National Institute of Fisheries Science found 108 jellyfish. This is the highest number since measurements began in 2015.

The cause is, unsurprisingly, the warming sea. Jellyfish have moved northward riding warm currents due to high water temperatures, reaching Jeju, the West Sea, the South Sea, and the East Sea. The rapid rise in coastal water temperatures has also increased their density. For some, this may only mean the disappointment of not being able to enjoy summer beach swimming, but the bigger problem is its direct connection to livelihoods. Fishermen have had their nets torn by the heavy jellyfish, their catch reduced, and some have even given up fishing altogether.

The scorching land and sea have already begun their 'counterattack.' They take human lives and shake livelihoods. Even if you currently benefit from the 'air conditioning class,' it won’t remain someone else’s story forever. The blazing sun shines down on everyone’s crown, sparing no one.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.