If you’re planning on visiting South Korea in July and August, get ready for plenty of iced drinks and air-conditioning. The hottest months of the year (along with the wettest) will require some good shoes and back up plans.
Summer: peak is July- August
Rain: peak wet season
Temperatures: 25-30C
Other: high humidity
Clothing
South Korea as a whole is still quite a conservative country when it comes to clothing. For women, for some reason, wearing the shortest of short skirts is ok but baring your shoulders is not. In Seoul, I guess anything could go but if you want to not offend and not to stick out too much, I would err on the side of caution. For men, you won’t be seeing many tank tops (is that what they’re called? muscle tops?) on the streets. For the beach, I would say bikini’s are not very common among the locals but if you’re somewhere like Busan, it should be ok.
Shoes
When it rains in the wet season, it pours. Keep in mind it is also hot so gumboots may or may not be ideal (although I have seen them being worn). Another conundrum is that you’ll likely be walking a lot so thongs (or flip flops as the rest of the world call them) are also not ideal although practical in wet weather. I went down the jelly shoes route but there’s also water proof sandals, leather sneakers and crocs (which you’d be surprised is actually a big thing in South Korea).
Jelly shoes in summer
Fan
When the humidity kicks in, it’s great to have some sort of breeze. This is where the hand held fans come in handy (hahaha). These mini handheld fans are sold everrrrywhere. Head the your nearest Daiso for a $5 one (which works really well) or Artbox for more fancy and cute ones. There’s also nothing wrong with an actual manual fan.
Electric fan
Umbrellas
Another way to keep the sun away are umbrellas! In some concrete jungle areas, there’s a lot of heat reflected so a nice way to create some shade is by using an umbrella. You might be thinking that it’s weird, coming from Western countries particularly. But in a lot of Asia, using an umbrella in summer is common practise (plus with the wet season, you’ll be carrying one anyway). In South Korea, it is quite popular to be walking under an umbrella in summer. There are also sun umbrellas designed to keep out UV rays etc (although I think these are more popular in Japan).
Staying cool
You already know that you should be hydrating in these conditions, luckily for you, there are plenty of cafes around South Korea. Everywhere indoors will be air conditioned. I have seen some air conditioned waiting rooms at large bus stops and train stations. There are plenty of museums and large shopping centres. Large shopping centres usually have water filters near the bathrooms where you can refill your bottles or have a cup of water from.
Alternatively, head the beach. The beaches are a little different from Australian beaches. There’s an open beach season which usually starts in June but is in full swing in July and August. This means that the umbrella and beds are set up (which are rented) and there are lifeguards. Outside of the official beach openings, I’ve heard mixed reports of what happens (between getting kicked out of the water vs no-one caring). Swimming is a skill that it not widely taught in South Korea so when the beach is open, you won’t be able to get far out due to netting (depending on which beach) with most people staying quite close to shore.
Haeundae Beach in Busan
Hiding out in a book shop
Food
Some popular dishes to eat in summer contain both cold and hot dishes. Some popular cold dishes are cold soybean noodle soup (kong guksu) and cold noodles (naengmyeon-this dish has ice in it!). A favourite summer hot dish is chicken ginseng soup (samgyetang) which is supposedly very good for you in summer (and all year round but particularly in summer). For other general dishes to try, I have previously posted about this here.
I can’t of course, not mention ice-cream. A classic summer essential. Cheap and easy to find (just go into any of the convenience stores!). I made a list of ice-creams to try in South Korea if you’re willing to go on this culinary journey.
kong guksu
Ice-cream from Baskin Robbins
How else do you like to stay cool in a humid summer?
Lingo in Transit 
I’m fortunate that here in LA, it’s more dry heat than humid. But I’ve visited humid countries in warmer months, and it’s brutal. My strategy to stay cool is to avoid going during the summer! For Korea, I hope to go in the fall when it’s *hopefully* cooler.
That is a good strategy- I don’t think I’d pick summer unless I HAD to! It will be alot cooler in fall.
Jelly shoes!!!! 😍
Such an interesting post!
My inner child was so happy.
When the fridge becomes the living room of the house
Too right!
Good advice! It is difficult to keep cool in high humidity. I know living in Queensland. I like to kerp a manual fan in my handbag and avoid going out in the hottest part of the day. I didn’t know any the shoulders thing.
Have you found your groove back at home yet? Or still missing Korea?
I go up to Townsville for work every now and then- wearing winter gear to the airport with a suitcase of summer clothes! The shoulders thing is very evident if you come across any kpop content. I think I’ve found a little more a groove but I want to keep building it. I still do miss Korea but don’t want to live back there for the moment.
Do you think it will still be this hot at the end of August? Or more Autumn-like? I will move to Korea in the last week of this month.
Yes, it will quite hot at the end of August. It gets noticeable more autumn like end of September. Have a smooth move over (how exciting!).
A very nice post with lots of good tips. I agree with you about not wanting to offend anyone with how you dress.
My great dream is to visit Korea and try its delicious cuisine.
I hope you will get to visit soon!
Good advice! It is difficult to keep cool in high humidity. I know living in Queensland. I like to kerp a manual fan in my handbag and avoid going out in the hottest part of the day. I didn’t know any the shoulders thing.
Great post! I love the heat but have a hard time tolerating the humidity, as it just feels like there is absolutely no air to breathe. I didn’t know that about beaches in Korea, so I might have to be mindful of those rules if I want to have a dip in the sea on my visit in September!