To withstand increasingly early, longer and more punishing summers, Europeans seek out whatever water they can find. Koreans, long accustomed to humid East Asian heat, have developed another survival strategy: buying a growing arsenal of cooling products that seems to evolve every summer.
Cooling patches. Frozen neck wraps. Sun powders. Cooling shampoos. Ice sleeves. Chilled sanitary pads. Portable fans. Ice cups. Heat-blocking clothing.
What began as practical gadgets has become summer fashion — and increasingly, an industry of its own.
The transformation has been gradual.
Seoul National University's annual Trend Korea series described 2024 as the year record-breaking heat became impossible to ignore.
By the following edition, "climate sensitivity" had emerged as one of the defining consumer keywords for 2025, reflecting a shift from viewing extreme weather as a distant environmental concern to treating it as part of everyday life.
This year's edition goes a step further, arguing that Korea has entered a "survival economy," where climate itself increasingly shapes what consumers buy.
Retailers have embraced the language. CJ Olive Young now markets its seasonal campaign under the slogan "Survival Beauty."
During Olive Young's late-May sales event, searches for sun powder — a cooling setting powder designed to reduce shine and leave a refreshing finish — jumped 284 percent from a year earlier, according to the retailer. Searches for body odor products rose 98 percent, while searches related to scalp odor climbed more than 80 percent.
On social media, posts featuring "summer survival kits" and "heatwave must-haves" have attracted millions of views.
The trend is spreading well beyond beauty.
Budget retailer Daiso quickly sold out of its 3,000-won reusable ice neck cooling band after launching it for the summer season. Sales of cooling innerwear doubled from a year earlier in May, prompting the chain to expand its cooling lineup from 70 to 90 products. It has also launched a dedicated "Summer Essentials" campaign featuring cooling bedding, cooling sprays and portable fans, underscoring how heat-relief products have become everyday household necessities rather than seasonal novelties.
Kim Eun-seo, 23, from Ilsan, said she walked into Olive Young simply to escape the rain but ended up browsing cooling products for her boyfriend, who gets hot more easily than she does.
She used to carry a handheld fan throughout college. Today she buys most cooling products online, with a reusable cooling neck wrap topping her list.
"It works really well in the heat, and it's inexpensive if you buy it online," she said.
Kim Seon-chang, 63, from Seoul's Yangjae neighborhood, has taken the opposite approach.
Rather than relying on rechargeable gadgets, he still carries a traditional folding fan.
"There's a reason our ancestors used fans," he said. "It doesn't need charging, it doesn't make noise, and as long as I keep moving my arm, it keeps me cool."
Korea's summers are among the most humid in the developed world. Relative humidity typically ranges between 78 percent and 84 percent during the season, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration, and often approaches 88 percent in July. Combined with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, the humidity regularly pushes the country's discomfort index above 80 — a level at which most people experience significant discomfort.
Because sweat evaporates more slowly in humid air, many of the season's best-selling products are designed less to lower body temperature directly than to reduce stickiness and help the body cool itself more efficiently.
The health impact is already becoming visible.
As of June 18, about 300 people had visited emergency rooms nationwide for heat-related illnesses over the previous month, up from 192 during the same period last year, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
Last summer was also Korea's hottest since nationwide records began in 1973. The national average temperature reached 25.7 degrees Celsius, while the average nighttime low climbed to a record 21.9 degrees, leaving many residents with little relief even after sunset.
Europe is now confronting many of the same challenges, but the response has been markedly different.
Across much of the continent, households still rely primarily on passive cooling by closing shutters during the day and ventilating homes at night.
According to the International Energy Agency, household air-conditioner ownership averages around 20 percent across Europe, although rates vary widely, from 56 percent in Italy and 41 percent in Spain to 25 percent in France, 5 percent in the United Kingdom and just 3 percent in Germany.
In Korean households, the rate is 98 percent of Korean households.
Even with cooling available in almost every home, consumers continue spending on an expanding range of products designed to make daily life outdoors more bearable.
What distinguishes Korea is not simply the demand for cooling products but the breadth of categories they now occupy.
Heat-relief products increasingly blur the lines between beauty, fashion, healthcare and personal care, extending from cooling shampoos and sun powders to frozen neck wraps, cooling innerwear and wearable accessories.
The result is a consumer market that has adapted to climate change with remarkable speed.
For Europeans, surviving another scorching summer may still mean searching for shade or jumping into the nearest river.
For Koreans, it increasingly means stopping by the cosmetics aisle first.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.