On November 27 KST, a record-breaking snowstorm hit parts of Gyeonggi Province in South Korea, including Seoul.
Some regions witnessed as much as 40 cm (approximately 15.8 inches) of snow, such as the city of Yongin.
Many residents of Yongin were shut in at home due to public transportation closures on this day, but the heavy snow did not stop one man from skiing to work.
Speedily skiing past slow-moving vehicles on a freeway, the "man skiing to work" quickly went viral on X and other SNS platforms, as onlookers observed, "This country is crazy," referring to the common stereotype that "Koreans go to work no matter what."
But it turns out, the man who skied to work is actually a former Olympic skier who represented the South Korean national team!
Kim Jung Min, a former Olympic skier, is now working as a physical education teacher at a high school in Yongin. He told SBS News, "I was going to take the bus to school, but it was snowing so much that I thought it would be faster to ski. It still took me about an hour and a half to get there." The man traveled 12 km to get to work, only to find out that the school was closed for the day.
He also added on with laughter, "It's been so long since I skied, it feels like my arms are break off."
The viral incident once again reminded netizens of the famous images from the 1990s, when South Koreans were spotted going to work during record floods.
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