tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post2691569900575245837..comments2024-03-15T20:59:48.143+09:00Comments on Lee's Korea Blog: Arisu - Seoul City Tap WaterLee Farrandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06405103217824096934noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-90501657914359548592014-03-19T12:00:56.998+09:002014-03-19T12:00:56.998+09:00I was living in Daegu for a year and the water the...I was living in Daegu for a year and the water there was fine. But in Seoul -at least in Dongdaemun- it has a 'humid' taste and 'waxy' residues. I don't know how to do a test and where to look for advice or recommendations. Would you provide any? Thanksesthela.niahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17699974440102660149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-28960957130595406312013-06-29T13:03:55.152+09:002013-06-29T13:03:55.152+09:00just moved to seoul from seattle where I drank tap...just moved to seoul from seattle where I drank tap water. its hot today, and I was out of bottled water when i thought about drinking tap water here, and then did some research. great info! I filled four bottles with tap and waiting 20 minutes for it to settle. now just need to convince my gf :-) benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09242955199323766791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-37781470274088149342011-03-13T00:02:18.461+09:002011-03-13T00:02:18.461+09:00interesting post. thanks for this.interesting post. thanks for this.CedarBoughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16795881445163549278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-37266709958607206182011-01-10T01:55:09.732+09:002011-01-10T01:55:09.732+09:00great article. I was curious about the water here ...great article. I was curious about the water here in korea because I purchased a 2 liter bottle of water for about .40. and I was thinking why it was so cheap. it was a cocacola product but only english on the bottle said jeju island springs. I bought for one it was cheap and 2 because the faucet water had some "floates" in it. whether it was from dissolved ice cubes or a glass of tap water I noticed that there was stuff other then water in it. so I decided to search and found your article...I will continue to drink my faucet water, and spoil myself with that .40 water every now and again. thanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-79898773861909290412010-10-31T16:05:48.785+09:002010-10-31T16:05:48.785+09:00Actually that's http://water.seoul.go.krActually that's http://water.seoul.go.krLee Farrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405103217824096934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-24500360298821455672010-10-31T16:02:43.559+09:002010-10-31T16:02:43.559+09:00Hi Shweta, try contacting your local council for i...Hi Shweta, try contacting your local council for information, or the website: water.gov.kr . I would be surprised if it were not safe to drink, but the contents of this article are purely related to the Seoul metropolitan area.Lee Farrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405103217824096934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-59784904918246612092010-10-31T13:57:23.147+09:002010-10-31T13:57:23.147+09:00your blog is really an eye opener, i am really imp...your blog is really an eye opener, i am really impressed by your interset in the topic, now there is one problem, i am convinced that tap water in seoul is safe to drink, and all seoullites must switch to ...tap water to save the long term effects our environment can bear for buying and dumping all those bottles..but i live in Jukjeon, which in bundang area, it is outside the 'Seoul Metropolitan Area'...now I am not sure what the norms of tap water in Yongin Si or bundang area are..any help ?Shweta Jain Choprahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955905414131826064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-8980783102543818902010-10-28T23:51:40.249+09:002010-10-28T23:51:40.249+09:00f-in fantastic post. sharing on facebook and conv...f-in fantastic post. sharing on facebook and convincing roommates to get rid of water machine.Hassanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14749357892272510736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-24803410129275403362010-10-05T14:40:11.795+09:002010-10-05T14:40:11.795+09:00Good info Lee. I recently brought the issue up in ...Good info Lee. I recently brought the issue up in class and now I'm going to use your blog to show my students what I've been telling them.StoicObserverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08396968311917563861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-72424266459688854582010-07-10T09:07:38.430+09:002010-07-10T09:07:38.430+09:00Nice post, thanks for the link. I'm not sure h...Nice post, thanks for the link. I'm not sure how I overlooked this post when you posted it, I'm usually good at keeping up with my favorite blogs. <br /><br />The Seoul government is really doing working hard to convince people to drink the tap water. <br /><br />The bottled water companies here, and at home in the US for me, do a good job of convincing people that their water is better. And, I don't necessarily believe it, but I still tend to reach for the bottled water first before the tap. <br /><br />I always think to myself that I'm going to change some things in my life to help the environment, and this one would be an easy thing to do. I'll try my best to drink more tap water from now on... will I do it? I don't know..조안나https://www.blogger.com/profile/18436544214416169575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-53762499946479919432010-07-03T10:08:46.709+09:002010-07-03T10:08:46.709+09:00The water safety tests here do not state that the ...The water safety tests here do not state that the water is 100% pure. They simply state that the water is 100% safe to drink, according to WHO standards. We need to consider that the motivation to remove every last impurity is a case of paranoia. Laws for canned foods allow for levels of impurities that would probably shock you:<br />Index Standard<br />Lead (Pb),mg/kg≤ 1.0<br />Copper(Cu) mg/kg≤ 5.0<br />Arsenic(As) mg/kg≤ 0.5<br /><br />Contaminants are present in all our foods, but what is important is the level of intake: https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nrl/index.cfm?pageid=57Lee Farrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405103217824096934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-1283489773436858862010-07-03T06:16:40.691+09:002010-07-03T06:16:40.691+09:00Even though the water looks clear, it's hard t...Even though the water looks clear, it's hard to drink it in any form and after installing a filter, I can see orange particles ( rust) and black soft particles (manganese) on the filter.<br /><br />I think you should reconsider your opinion. Here's the filter with example pictures. If you are currently drinking your tapwater I would at least use a carbon filter to get the nasties out. <br /><br />http://item.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=122725819menoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-9989336450905641392010-05-12T16:30:49.450+09:002010-05-12T16:30:49.450+09:00Hi Lee
I'm writing a feature on Seoul's w...Hi Lee<br /><br />I'm writing a feature on Seoul's water sector and found your excellent blog post. I wondered if you might be available for a chat one day? Please contact me through my website: www.lucycorne.com.<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />LucyLucyhttp://www.lucycorne.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-51080984782053160332010-05-10T16:09:08.642+09:002010-05-10T16:09:08.642+09:00Thank you anonymous. However we need to make the d...Thank you anonymous. However we need to make the distinction between tap water in the US and here in Korea. Tap water in Seoul is safe to drink, but the same is not true for the entire country.Lee Farrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405103217824096934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-83554624502843930932010-05-10T11:11:01.338+09:002010-05-10T11:11:01.338+09:00Dr. Mercola's Comments:
The next time someone...Dr. Mercola's Comments:<br /><br />The next time someone offers you a bottle of water, take a stand and say something clever like, “No thank you, I don’t believe in it.” This simple move will open up a conversation about the massive swindle that is bottled water … and possibly persuade one more person to give it up entirely.<br /><br />Please also make a point to see this fantastic new movie, Tapped, which is playing in select theaters in the United States and is available on DVD.<br /><br />Even beyond the issues of your health and the environment, bottled water represents a novel form of privatization, in which private corporations have succeeded, and quite successfully I might add, at making water a commodity.<br /><br />I would say, and I suspect you would agree, that water is more a “right” than it is a commodity. And private corporations should have no more control over the selling of water than they do the selling of our air supplies. Well, this is already occurring to some extent as corporations make a profit selling water -- which at times even makes water less available to the people living in the area.<br /><br />Even public water supplies are being increasingly taken over by private corporations, and in some areas of the world are up for grabs by the highest bidder.<br />This has been publicized in countries such as Bolivia, where residents battled police and the military to protect their water rights from the US-based Bechtel Corporation, but you should know water privatization initiatives are being pushed all over the world … including in the United States.<br /><br />If you’re interested in learning more, an excellent, eye-opening film on this topic that I highly recommend is Thirst.<br /><br />Getting back to bottled water, however,in 2008, U.S. bottled water consumption reached nearly 9 billion gallons, raking in revenues of more than $11 billion.<br /><br />Folks, this is for a “product” you can get virtually for free by turning on your kitchen tap!<br /><br />Are You Paying 1,900 Times More for Unhealthy, Earth-Damaging Water? Yet, that very same bottled water that you’re paying a premium for is, in about 40 percent of cases, simply bottled tap water, which may or may not have received any additional treatment.<br /><br />On top of that, most municipal tap water must actually adhere to more strict purity standards than the bottled water industry. <br /><br />An independent test performed by the Environmental Working Group revealed 38 low-level contaminants in bottled water, with each of the 10 tested brands containing an average of eight chemicals including disinfection byproducts (DBPs), caffeine, Tylenol, nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic, and bacteria were all detected. <br /><br />So what you are paying for is often no different, or worse, than the water that comes out of your faucet.<br /><br />When you factor in other elements, like the chemicals that can leach from the plastic bottle and its impact on the environment, bottled water becomes a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.<br /><br />Drinking From Plastic Bottles is Not a Wise Health Move. When drinking bottled water you need to think not only about the water but also about the bottle itself. Plastic is not an inert substance as its manufacturers would like you to believe. It contains chemicals like BPA and phthalates, which mimic hormones in your body.<br /><br />Plastic is Hurting the Earth in a Major Way<br />About 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to manufacture water bottles each year around the world, and the processing itself releases toxic compounds like nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene. <br /><br />A Simple Solution is at Your Disposal: Once you realize that bottled water is:No safer than tap water Extremely expensive, Often contaminated by plastics chemicals, Contributing to massive environmental harm - the choice to stop using it becomes simple. Fortunately, the alternative to having pure water is also simple: use a reverse osmosis filter.<br /> <br />SEE THE VID CLIP! <br />http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2099/12/31/a-movie-about-water-you-need-to-see.aspxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-61821665683825375022010-05-04T18:57:33.476+09:002010-05-04T18:57:33.476+09:00Good points, 3gyupGood points, 3gyupLee Farrandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06405103217824096934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-23770950764217143702010-05-04T15:40:29.637+09:002010-05-04T15:40:29.637+09:00This is a great post that will make me think about...This is a great post that will make me think about the logic of buying water in the future. I don't know if it would convince my wife though. I live in Jinju, and not Seoul. There is a large lake in Jinju, that is actually a damned off river. The locals here swear that it is the cleanest water in Korea but my Korean wife still wants to buy bottled water all of the time. I'd like to make a few points though. <br /><br />Bottled water in Korea is extremely cheap. The 1500 won that you would pay for a bottle of Sam Da Soo is still vastly cheaper than the pints of Dasani that you can buy in America for $2.00 per bottle. I agree totally with you that buying bottled water is kind of silly and expensive and bad for the environment, however in Korea it isn't too expensive. <br /><br />I think that another issue that might be at work is that Koreans might have a harder time trusting their own regulatory agencies. Evidence of this can be seen at the local drug stores and mini pharmacies. A lot of times Korean drugs tout the fact that they have passed American F.D.A. regulatory standards. I don't know that the American F.D.A. or the U.S. department of agriculture has and more rigorous standards than Korean regulatory agencies, but still Korean drug and dairy producers seem to trust foreign firms more than their own. <br /><br />An example of this relating to water comes from my wife's work for a hydroponic farming consulting firm. My wife had to send about 10 liters of water to the Netherlands (from different farms around Southern Korea) for testing because the initial sample testing by the Korean firms had results that were inconclusive. I don't think that there was a difference between the Korean and Dutch science, I think that the profile of the Dutch review was just a bit more comprehensive. <br /><br />All that said, it is still a bit funny that Koreans might not drink tap water, but will still go to a mountain and drink out of an outdoor well from a cup that 50 people before them used.3gyupsalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05221321128938672113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-88686570046689370822010-04-17T09:14:25.225+09:002010-04-17T09:14:25.225+09:00You are a prolific writer as I suppose most PhD st...You are a prolific writer as I suppose most PhD student must be, at least my son, the professor was and is. I enjoy your out put. I have heard safe drinking water is becoming a problem in many places.<br />Here where I live, I have a small separate container where we purify drinking water and water used for cooking. Good stuff you write, Mr Lee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31385473.post-86711720637474202242010-04-16T14:51:57.672+09:002010-04-16T14:51:57.672+09:00Very informative post! I live in Gwangju and I'...Very informative post! I live in Gwangju and I've been warned not to drink the water by locals. They use all types of purifiers but they mainly drink bottled water. I couldn't find any useful info in English on the water standards of Gwangju but if I find something I'll post it here.Jimmyhttp://our-world-adventure.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com