Korean Expat Community for National Disasters

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The weather has turned cold, but not in a straight line. Some days feel like proper late autumn, and others are warm enough that a heavy coat would be too much. The swings are big enough that I find myself wondering which outer layer to wear every time I leave the house. It’s a small problem, but it comes up every morning now.

The difficult part is that the right choice changes during the day. In the morning it’s cold enough that I want something warm, but by the afternoon it can be mild enough that I end up carrying the jacket instead of wearing it. When the cold days stretch on, it’s the opposite: I go out in something light because the day before was warm, and I regret it by evening. Checking the temperature before leaving doesn’t help as much as I’d like. The number on the app doesn’t always match how it actually feels, especially when it’s windy.

What stood out to me this week is how differently people are dressed. Some people have their padded jackets zipped all the way up, as if it’s already winter. Others are in just a hoodie or a zip-up hoodie, with nothing heavier. There are also people in between, wearing a light jacket or a cardigan. On the Gyeongchun Line you can see all of these at once, and none of them look out of place.

I don’t think any of them are wrong. People feel cold differently, and what you’re doing matters too. Someone who walks quickly or spends most of the day indoors may be fine in a hoodie, while someone who waits outside or commutes early in the morning may need something heavier. Still, the variety in clothing seems to show how unclear the season is right now. When it’s clearly cold, everyone dresses roughly the same. When the weather is changing a lot, everyone makes a different call.

I check the weather forecast more often than I’d like, and I end up bringing a thicker coat even if I don’t wear it. On most days I wear a hoodie as a base and add or remove a layer depending on the time of day. It isn’t a perfect method, but it covers most of the temperature range. A padded jacket still feels like too much, though I can understand why some people have already switched. It’s an awkward stage, because it’s not warm enough to ignore the cold and not cold enough to take out the winter clothes.

For now, I’m wearing a hoodie and carrying one extra layer just in case. I’ll probably change that once the weather stops swinging so much.

(The photo is an image generated by generative AI.)