'Like a sauna': 51 Seoul subway stations still have no air conditioning amid record heat

Stepping into Hongje Station on Seoul Metro Line 3 on Thursday afternoon, a wall of hot air hit immediately. It only got worse. By the time passengers reached the underground platform, sweat was soaking through their clothes within minutes. Most of those waiting for trains were visibly struggling with the heat — more than half were fanning themselves with portable electric fans. Seoul's high that day reached 39.2 degrees Celsius, recorded in Gangseo-gu.

"I've been waiting five minutes for the next train and I'm already completely drenched," said a 34-year-old surnamed Kim, a resident of Seodaemun-gu. "It feels like being inside a sauna." The underground platform at Hongje Station has a small air-conditioned waiting area, but on Thursday the unit inside had broken down, leaving passengers with nowhere to escape the heat.

Of the 281 stations operated by Seoul Metro on lines 1 through 8, 51 — or 18.1 percent — have no air conditioning installed. That figure is unchanged from last year, meaning not a single additional station received cooling upgrades.

The problem is concentrated on lines 2 through 4, which were built in the 1980s and 1990s. Retrofitting a non-air-conditioned station requires an average of 63 billion won ($44.4 million) per station, making improvements extremely difficult without government funding.

According to Seoul Metro's own data on station cooling conditions, 230 of the 281 stations on lines 1 through 8 — 81.9 percent — have air conditioning. The remaining 51 do not.

Of those 51 non-air-conditioned stations, 25 are above ground and 26 are underground. Above-ground stations are generally considered harder to cool given their open structure.

Line 3 has the most non-air-conditioned stations. Two are above ground — Jichuk and Oksu — and 18 are underground: Gupabal, Nokbeon, Hongje, Muakjae, Dongnimmun, Gyeongbokgung, Anguk, Dongdaeipmun, Geumho, Jamwon, Nambu Terminal, Maebong, Daecheong, Dogok, Daechi, Hagnyeoul, Irwon and Suseo.

Line 2 follows with 17 non-air-conditioned stations, most of them above ground. The 13 above-ground stations without cooling are Hanyang University, Ttukseom, Seongsu, Konkuk University, Guui, Gangbyeon, Jamsillaru, Sindaebang, Guro Digital Complex, Daerim, Dangsan, Yongdap and Sindap. The four underground stations without cooling are Chungjeongno, Ahyeon, Yangcheon-gu Office and Dorimcheon.

Line 4 has nine non-air-conditioned stations in total — five above ground (Buramsan, Sanggye, Nowon, Changdong and Dongjak) and four underground (Hansung University Entrance, Seoul Station, Sinyongsan and Ichon).

Line 5, by contrast, has air conditioning at all 56 of its stations. On lines 6 through 8, only above-ground stations lack cooling. Line 6, which has 39 stations, and Line 8, which has 24, each have just one above-ground station without air conditioning — Sinnae on Line 6 and Namwirye on Line 8. On Line 7, three of its 42 stations are above ground and without cooling: Dobongsan, Jangam and Jayang.

A Seoul Metro official said lines 1 through 4 were built without air-conditioning systems incorporated into their original designs, while lines 5 through 8, constructed later, had cooling infrastructure built in from the start.

The official added that Seoul Metro has been progressively retrofitting non-air-conditioned stations on lines 1 through 4 since 1993, completing installations at 74 stations, but that 26 underground stations remain without cooling.

Seoul Metro acknowledged that budget constraints make further progress difficult. "Full air-conditioning installation is possible during a complete station remodel, but it requires an average of about 63 billion won per station," the official said. "Without national government funding, it is in effect impossible to move forward."

In the meantime, Seoul Metro has installed portable cooling units at 28 non-air-conditioned stations, with 96 devices in operation as of Wednesday. The units cool only the immediate surrounding area, however, providing limited relief during the current extreme heat.

For above-ground stations, Seoul Metro has set up air-conditioned customer waiting areas — called Metro Shelters — where passengers can rest while waiting for trains. The operator has installed a total of 40 such shelters across 22 of the 25 above-ground stations without air conditioning.