Yellow Dust

The start of March brought in gloomy, dim weather. Not a typical March that I am used to, where you can start to hear the robins rise and budding blooms begin to pop everywhere you look. Instead, here in Daegu, March brought in skies clattered in clouds, drizzle and yes, even yellow dust.

I can count on two hands the number of rainy, grey days here in Daegu since arriving in August. The month March produced more bleak weather than in six months combined. The Frommer's guide doesn't mention much of this phenomenon- but if you're going to Teach English in Korea be aware- from February to June it's yellow dust season.

The sound of yellow dust slipping off your tongue has somewhat of a nice ring to it- but it's anything but glamorous.

After having been warned by some of my Korean colleagues about the yellow dust the previous week, I decided to do some research. Basically, this "dust" comes down from China. The dust is made up of heavy metals and particles that blow in from the Gobi Desert in China. I read that the dust carries nitrogen and sulfur dioxide and can cause respiratory and eye infections.

This past Saturday, as the skies went from blue to grey in a matter of minutes- it seemed as though Armageddon had finally arrived. The sky was a blanketed in dim grayness and dust. The picture you see here is at about 4 O'clock in the afternoon.

This weekend marked the heaviest and worst yellow dust that Korea had ever experienced. Alerts were sent via text message (translated of course to us foreigners by our fellow Korean friends) as well as in the bars. They warned to cover up and if possible- stay inside. I heard that the dust storm was so bad, that it actually made it's way both to the American news and soil.

It's pretty weird to walk downtown and watch everyone covering up with their hands, scarves and masks, all the while pondering what is going on. The disadvantage of being unable to speak the language is of course- you miss out on the emergency alerts. There could have been some sort of biochemical outbreak- but the foreigners would have continued on partying with no clue at all!

Having been exposed to the dust for well over a few hours while walking around town, it was too late to wear a mask or cover up- anyways the look would have really hindered our outfits as we strutted into the expat bars. Although my throat has been a little sore- I don't think the dust did too much damage.

The weather experts claim that we will have another dust storm within the next few weeks and alert that it can be just as bad. I may have to re-think the mask as a fashion accessory. We'll see.