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Refrigerators and air-conditioning. Life without them would be hard to imagine.
But centuries-old Korean cooling techniques served many of the same purposes.
And the know-how from more than a thousand years back still has practical applications
today,... as Kim Mok-yeon reports. Around fifteen hundred years ago, ancient
Koreans created the "seok-bing-go" to store ice frozen during winter.
The "seok-bing-go" were mostly tunnels dug deep underground.
Their ceilings were built by stacking stones in an arch and a hole was created at the top
for ventilation.
"The round surface allows for good drainage, and its streamlined shape makes it easier
for air to flow through. The structure itself is favorable in storing ice for a long period
of time."
Sometimes, the ice remained frozen up to six months.
Even when summer temperatures reached 32 degrees Celsius, the inner temperature of the "seok-bing-go"
remained at 11-point-5 degrees. Recently, such advantages of the ancient icebox
have merged with modern technology. A research institute in Daejeon created underground
storage based on the scientific principles of the "seok-bing-go" to store liquefied natural
gas. The institute was able to save about 34 percent
of its annual energy consumption. Contemporary air-conditioners that operate
without wind combine aspects of the "seok-bing-go" air flow system.
Some observers of the union between old and new technology say the key to slowing climate
change and energy consumption... could be found in the wisdom of our ancestors.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.