Citizen Racing on Skis Amid Heavy Snowfall Sparks Buzz
SBS: "Current PE Teacher Former National Ski Team Member"
Netizens: "The Epitome of K-Office Worker"
Last Year, 'Ski Tribe' Also Appeared in Jeju
A citizen skiing and speeding down the road was captured in Gwanggyo New Town, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Online community
As heavy snow paralyzed morning traffic in the Seoul metropolitan area, a citizen skiing on the snowy road was captured, drawing attention.
On the morning of the 28th, a video was posted on online communities and social networking services (SNS) showing a man skiing over the thickly piled snow near Hadong Lake Park intersection in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province. The man, dressed in black clothes and a hat, equipped with ski gear, was skiing along one side of the snowy road. Unlike the cars moving slowly on the snow-covered road, he was seen speeding along with a sense of velocity. Netizens who saw the video reacted with comments such as "This is what a K-office worker is like," "This might be faster than a car," and "It could be dangerous, but quite romantic."
SBS introduced the man as Kim Jeong-min, a former national team ski athlete and a physical education teacher. Kim told SBS, "I was going to take the bus, but since there was too much snow, I thought skiing would be faster, so I started and it took about an hour and 30 minutes to arrive."
A citizen skiing and speeding down the road was captured in Gwanggyo New Town, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. Online community
Meanwhile, as of 8 a.m. that day, the snowfall in Suwon was measured at 43.0 cm, the highest since weather observations began in 1964. Especially, with about 30 cm of snow already accumulated the previous day, the additional snowfall overnight increased the total accumulation. The heavy snow that fell not only in Suwon but throughout the metropolitan area made the morning commute difficult for office workers. According to Korea Railroad Corporation (Korail), the heavy snow caused delays in the operation of some trains on Seoul Subway Line 1 and the Suin-Bundang Line. Korail explained, "The delay was due to the removal of snow and tree branches on the tracks and power supply issues, which delayed the dispatch of trains from the depot."
Last December, during a heavy snowfall that paralyzed traffic in Jeju, a man was seen traveling on skis. Photo by JIBS Press Release
Earlier, on December 22 last year, a man skiing on a snowy road was also spotted in Jeju. At that time, a heavy snow warning was issued across Jeju, and traffic was paralyzed due to the heavy snowfall. A man, dressed in a padded jumper and equipped with ski gear, was seen moving through the streets. A citizen shouted at him, "It's too dangerous. Come onto the sidewalk. You might get hurt," but the man ignored the warning and calmly passed along the snowy road.
In 2018, a man skiing on a sidewalk in downtown Jeju was also found. At that time, he was working as an instructor at a driving school and, due to difficulties using public transportation caused by heavy snow, he skied about 12 km to commute. Netizens speculated that "the protagonists of the two cases might be the same person."
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