Shivering South Koreans set up tent in bedrooms to shield themselves from biting cold, soaring gas bills

People are finding creative ways, including setting up a tent in their bedrooms, to cut expenses as heating costs shoot through the roof

‘The prices of everything are going up except my husband’s income,’ says a woman, who bought a tent for her two children

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Women wearing traditional Korean attire walk in the snow at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul on Thursday. Photo: AP

Published: 5:00pm, 27 Jan 2023

A man in his 20s, surnamed Kim, has set up a tent over his bed, a decision he said has greatly helped with the recent cold wave in South Korea. He lives alone in a small housing unit that provides centralised heating.

“I was unsure about it at first,” he said. “But now that I have used it for a couple of days, I understand why this was so popular online. It’s better than you think. I highly recommend it.”

He had set the thermostat to 15 degrees Celsius, the lowest manually settable temperature and seldom comes out from the tent once he is in.

The plastic material of the tent is not at all breathable, effectively trapping the air and body heat inside. Prices vary, but they can go for as low as about 25,000 won (US$20) including shipping.

“I don’t think higher prices in this case necessarily guarantee that they do a better job of keeping the air warm. Items cheaper than 30,000 won should be enough.”

Setting up a tent in a bedroom seemed a little too desperate at first, he said. But that quickly changed when he received a gas bill that cost him almost double the rate from a year earlier ― in December.