Fine dust pollution is air pollution caused by fine particulate matters, which largely come from exhaust fumes from internal-combustion engines, smoke from factory chimneys and so on. These days Korean people are suffering fine dust pollution.

To the untrained eye, it seems like a foggy day in Seoul. The air is thick enough to taste and the visibility is just metered. Out of the haze emerge businessmen hurrying to work, women heading to the shops, mothers, and children on the school run. Even in this fashion-conscious city, they are all wearing the same thing: surgical-style masks, as if they are scared to show their faces.

On the streets, fear is indeed in the air, but this is no fog. It is the same killer dust that has helped make South Korea one of the world’s most polluted countries and has caused up to 18,000 deaths in just one year, according to the World Health Organization. We will discuss various solutions to combat this fine dust in South Korea.

 But before getting to carried away that a solution is at hand, observers point out that even the experts are often at odds when it comes to theories about the cause of the problem. The most popular media narrative is that there is one clear villain in South Korea’s struggle with its killer dust: China. Still, while the ‘blame China’ narrative has proved popular with the public over the years, experts and commentators are noticing some holes in the story. China is not only one to blame for this issue.

The industries that are making this issue worse are only concerned with making a profit. In comparison to the South Korean government, the Chinese government has ordered a transition to electric cars and plans to phase out cars run on petrol in the next few years. Meanwhile, Korean electric cars are almost non-existent. South Korea has 53 power plants and plans to increase this number. Gas- and coal-fired power plants have increased their output significantly in the last few years. Although China is an easy target to blame, most of South Korea’s fine particulate matter is domestically produced, and the government needs to implement measures to counteract this and educate the public on all the causes and effects. With over 10,000 deaths each year that can be traced back to air pollution, the public should not only be aware of how to deal with the pollution but also how to prevent it.