On the 10th, workers are working outdoors at an apartment construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seungwook Park

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At 8:50 a.m. on the 10th, at an apartment construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, the workers' day began under the scorching sun. Even though it was still morning, the rest area was already packed with workers seeking refuge from the heat. Gathered around a fan, they took bottled water from an icebox and held ice in their hands. Some filled their water bottles with ice, while others took their phones out of zipper bags to keep them from getting soaked with sweat. Here, it is routine to keep phones and wallets separately to prevent them from getting wet.

Most of the workers entering the rest area were already drenched in sweat. Their work clothes were soaked, and sweat ran down their necks from beneath their safety helmets. One worker leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. The fatigue was evident as they silently sipped water from bottles in their hands. Someone muttered, "Even a machine would break down in this weather, let alone a person." And so, the reporter's experience of working under the heatwave began.

After completing safety training at a nearby education center and going through procedures such as iris registration, the reporter was assigned to carry rebar and materials inside the building. The temperature had already soared past 30 degrees Celsius in the morning. After moving rebar a few times, my entire body was soaked in sweat and my work clothes quickly became heavier. Everywhere in the workplace, people couldn't help but say, "It's unbearably hot." The faces of the workers were covered with towels and arm sleeves. During breaks, they sucked on glucose candies, grabbed their water bottles, and sat in the shade. Although there was a 20-minute break after every 40 minutes of work, it felt far too short in the sweltering heat.

Materials were transported by forklift only up to the front of the building, but the final delivery had to be done by hand. Because the materials had to be carried up the stairs, machines could not be used. Han (35), who was working alongside me, said, "This is still bearable. The real heat starts in the afternoon." Some workers couldn't even straighten their backs as they carried heavy materials, constantly wiping sweat from their foreheads as they moved.

On the 10th, workers at a construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, were waiting at a restaurant for lunch. Photo by Seungwook Park

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At lunchtime, a long line of workers formed in front of the site cafeteria. Because the cafeteria couldn't accommodate everyone at once, they had to wait for dozens of minutes in a place with no shade. Complaints like "I'll get heatstroke just waiting to eat" could be heard all around.

After lunch, the workers gathered again on the fourth basement floor. Before starting work, the manager delivered safety instructions and assigned tasks. The temperature had risen to 37 degrees Celsius. The reporter was assigned to sort materials indoors instead of working outside. The job was to organize scattered materials and trash around the formwork supporting the concrete ceiling. The heat was relentless even indoors. Oxygen was scarce and humidity was high. Although the building provided shelter from direct sunlight, the trapped heat and humidity inside made it hard to breathe. As I organized the materials, clouds of dust rose into the air.

During a heatwave, outdoor work at construction sites should be minimized between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. When the temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius, workers must be given at least a 15-minute shaded break every hour, and outdoor work should be stopped except in unavoidable cases. If the temperature rises to 38 degrees Celsius, outdoor work must be halted except in emergencies or disasters. However, the site was still operating. Materials, equipment, and manpower moved even before the thermometer needle did.

The thermometer soon showed 39 degrees Celsius. Hair sticking out from under safety helmets was plastered to foreheads with sweat, and skin was covered in salty perspiration. Workers tried to quench their thirst with ice water from the rest area, but even the ice didn't last long. The water jug in the rest area was already half-melted, and even after gulping down cup after cup, the thirst didn't go away easily. Choi (in his 40s) said, "Sweat gets in my eyes so I can't open them, and on the way home, the salt stings so much I have to wash my eyes with running water before I can sleep."

On the 10th, workers are taking a short nap inside an apartment construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seungwook Park

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The last task was to drain rainwater that had collected on the second basement floor. We gathered the water with squeegees, scooped it up with shovels, and carried it away in buckets. Our lower bodies were soaked with rainwater, and our upper bodies with sweat. The hardest part was staying hydrated. In the basement, the rest area was far away, and going upstairs for water meant giving up break time altogether. The workers just crouched in front of the basement fan, silently cooling off. Instead of words, they caught their breath and shared their exhaustion with glances.

At 4:30 p.m., the word spread: "Let's start wrapping up." Workers gathered in small groups, and after the manager finished the headcount, the day's labor was over. The reporter's pedometer recorded a total of 12,838 steps. Reeking of sweat, I couldn't even dream of sitting on the subway. The reward for a grueling day under the heatwave was a daily wage of 130,000 won. It was the very definition of hard-earned value, won through a day-long battle with sweat and scorching heat.