Impact of underfloor heating

It’s not very often that a seemingly mundane invention alters the lifestyle of an entire people. Surely, the automobile and the airplane altered the way we travel and made the World a bit smaller, as the Internet has altered the way we communicate drastically. But few realize that something as simple as indoor plumbing has made the modern city a much cleaner and healthier place and changed the way we regard personal hygiene. Something as simple as the refrigerator has also altered the way we live as it allows for food to be stored for much longer periods of time.

When we look at Korean culture, there are many mannerisms that stand out as being different from Western culture. One of which, and probably the most bizarre looking for a westerner, is the tradition of sitting down and sleeping on the floor. Koreans do not have raised bed like we do, and prefer a cushion on the floor to a chair. There is also the tradition of removing your shoes inside the house, complete with shoes designed to be easier to remove, and even traditional pants that are wider than normal pants. And all of these traditions can be traced back to the use of ondol, the Korean underfloor heating technology.