Sweat Pours Like Rain in 39-Degree Extreme Heat: "Even Machines Would Break Down" [Workers in Crisis] ①

Workers Endure with Glucose Candies
Relentless Carrying Tasks Leave Faces
Covered in Salty Sweat

"It's already like a sauna in the morning... How are we supposed to survive the afternoon?"

At 8:50 a.m. on the 10th, at an apartment construction site in Eunpyeong District, Seoul, the day for the workers began under the scorching sun. Even in the morning, the rest area was already packed with workers seeking relief from the heat. Those gathered around the fan took bottles of water from an icebox and held ice in their hands. Some filled their water bottles with ice, while others, drenched in sweat, took their phones out of ziplock bags. Here, it is routine to keep phones and wallets in separate bags to prevent them from getting soaked with sweat.

Most of the workers entering the rest area were already drenched in sweat. Their work clothes were damp, and sweat ran down from under their hard hats along their necks and backs. One worker leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. The fatigue was evident as they silently sipped water from bottles in their hands. Someone muttered, "Even a machine would break down in this weather, let alone a person." And so began the reporter's experience among the workers in the extreme heat.

After finishing safety training at a nearby education center and completing procedures such as iris registration, the reporter was assigned to carry rebar and materials inside the building. By morning, the temperature had already soared well above 30 degrees Celsius. After moving rebar a few times, the reporter was soaked in sweat, and the work clothes quickly became heavier. All around, workers couldn't help but exclaim, "It's unbearably hot." The faces of coworkers were covered with towels and arm sleeves. During breaks, they sucked on glucose candies and took their water bottles to sit in the shade. There was a 20-minute break after every 40 minutes of work, but in the sweltering heat, it felt far too short.

Materials were transported by forklift only up to the front of the building, but the final delivery had to be done by hand. Because of the stairs, machines couldn't reach the rest of the way. Han (35), who was working alongside the reporter, said, "This is still bearable. The real heat starts in the afternoon." Some workers, unable to straighten their backs, carried heavy materials, constantly wiping sweat from their foreheads as they moved.

On the 10th, workers at a construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, were waiting at a restaurant for lunch. Photo by Park Seungwook

At lunchtime, a long line of workers formed in front of the site cafeteria. Because the cafeteria couldn't accommodate everyone at once, they had to wait for dozens of minutes in a spot with no shade. Complaints like "I'll get heatstroke just waiting to eat" could be heard everywhere.

After lunch, the workers gathered again on the fourth basement level. Before work resumed, the manager gave safety instructions and assigned tasks. The temperature had risen to 37 degrees Celsius. The reporter was assigned to indoor material organization instead of outdoor work. This involved cleaning up scattered materials and debris around the shoring that supported the concrete ceiling. The heat was no less oppressive indoors. Oxygen was scarce, and humidity was high. The building provided the only escape from direct sunlight, but the trapped heat and humidity inside made it hard to breathe. As materials were organized, dust billowed everywhere.

During a heat wave, outdoor work at construction sites should be minimized between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. When the temperature reaches 35 degrees Celsius, workers must be allowed at least 15 minutes of rest in the shade every hour, and outdoor work should be suspended except in unavoidable cases. If the temperature rises to 38 degrees Celsius, all outdoor work must stop except for emergencies such as disasters. However, the site kept running. Materials, equipment, and workers all moved before the thermometer needle did.

Soon, the thermometer showed 39 degrees Celsius. Hair sticking out from under hard hats was plastered with sweat, and skin was covered with salty perspiration. Workers tried to quench their thirst with ice water from the rest area, but even the ice didn't last long. The water container in the rest area was already half-melted, and even after gulping down a cup, the thirst didn't go away. Choi (in his 40s) said, "Sweat gets in my eyes so I can't open them. On my way home, my eyes sting from the salt, so I have to wash them with running water before I can sleep."

On the 10th, workers are taking a short nap inside an apartment construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Seungwook Park

The last task was to remove rainwater pooled on the second basement level. The water was gathered with a squeegee, shoveled up, and carried away in baskets. The lower body was soaked with rainwater, and the upper body was drenched in sweat. The hardest part was staying hydrated. In the basement, the rest area was far away, and going upstairs for water meant giving up break time altogether. The workers simply crouched in front of the basement fan, silently letting the breeze cool them. Instead of words, they caught their breath and exchanged glances, sharing their exhaustion with their eyes.

By 4:30 p.m., people began to say, "Let's start wrapping up." Workers gathered in small groups, and after the manager finished the headcount, the day's labor was over. The reporter's step count for the day was 12,838. The smell of sweat clinging to the body made it impossible to even dream of sitting on the subway seats. The reward for a grueling day in the heat was a daily wage of 130,000 won. It was the very definition of hard-earned value, fought for all day long against the sweltering heat, soaked in sweat.