South Korea Cold Snap Leaves 939 Seoul Households Without Heat in 19-Hour Blackout

A freezing weekend made worse by power failures

A water leak in a basement electrical room left 939 households in two apartment buildings in Guro-gu, western Seoul, without electricity and heating for roughly 19 hours and 30 minutes during a severe cold snap. The outage began around 9:30 p.m. on January 23, 2026, and power was fully restored at 4:54 p.m. on January 24, after equipment replacement and safety inspections.

Seoul recorded a low of minus 11 degrees Celsius while residents endured the blackout. Two people trapped in an elevator were rescued by fire authorities. Some residents moved temporarily to nearby community service centers and senior centers, while others stayed in homes where the heating no longer worked.

Another apartment complex, housing about 860 households in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, lost electricity around 12:40 a.m. on January 24 because of a transformer malfunction. Power returned within two hours, but residents also faced an interruption to heating during the intense cold.

By January 26, South Korea was dealing with one of its most severe cold snaps in recent memory, with temperatures described as reaching record lows across the Korean peninsula. The Korea Meteorological Administration reported morning temperatures around minus 10 degrees Celsius nationwide on January 25 and forecast that the cold would persist through the middle of the week.

The two outages showed the immediate consequences of losing electricity when it is needed for warmth. Families had to find ways to retain body heat, emergency services had to reach people in danger, and repair crews had to restore equipment before normal heating could resume.

What happened in Guro-gu?

Water entering an electrical room on a basement level of one building triggered the Guro-gu outage. The interruption affected two apartment buildings, leaving their heating systems unusable through a freezing night and much of the following day.

The household count was given as 939, with broader descriptions referring to nearly 1,000 residents or nearly 1,000 households. Households and residents measure different things: one counts homes, while the other counts people. The immediate problem was the same for those affected, a prolonged loss of electricity and heat while outdoor temperatures were far below freezing.

One resident said they barely slept, relying on hot packs under blankets to stay warm. The account gives a picture of how families managed the hours before repairs were finished: keeping close to whatever warmth they could find while the apartment heating remained unavailable.

Fire authorities rescued the two people caught in an elevator during the blackout. Electricity loss therefore created more than a heating problem. It also interrupted equipment that residents depend on to move safely through their buildings.

Korea Electric Power Corp. and other authorities took part in equipment replacement and safety inspections before full service returned. The Guro District Office said residents who had relocated to community service centers and senior centers gradually returned home after electricity was restored.

Two outages over one bitterly cold night

Uijeongbu experienced a shorter interruption than Guro-gu, but the failure came during the same period of extreme cold. A transformer malfunction cut power to an apartment complex with about 860 households shortly after midnight on January 24.

A transformer is equipment that changes electricity to the voltage needed by the buildings it serves. When it malfunctions, homes connected to it can lose power. In Uijeongbu, electricity was restored within two hours, although the interruption still left residents without their usual heating during a critical part of the night.

The sequence of the weather and outages was:

• January 23, around 9:30 p.m.: A basement water leak caused the blackout affecting two apartment buildings in Guro-gu.
• January 24, around 12:40 a.m.: A transformer malfunction interrupted power to about 860 households in Uijeongbu.
• January 24, within two hours of the Uijeongbu failure: Electricity was restored to that complex.
• January 24, 4:54 p.m.: Full electricity service returned in Guro-gu after roughly 19 hours and 30 minutes.
• January 25: Morning temperatures remained around minus 10 degrees Celsius nationwide, with Seoul at minus 11 degrees Celsius.
• January 26: The forecast pointed to continued cold through the middle of the week.

The difference in duration mattered for residents. Uijeongbu households faced an interruption measured in about two hours; Guro-gu households went through an entire night and most of the next day before service returned.

How cold was it, and how long would it last?

The Korea Meteorological Administration said temperatures continued to fall on January 25, with morning lows hovering around minus 10 degrees Celsius nationwide. Seoul reached minus 11 degrees Celsius, and strong winds made conditions feel colder.

Wind chill describes how cold the air feels on exposed skin when wind carries away body heat. A thermometer measures air temperature, while wind chill helps explain why a windy day can feel harsher than a calmer day at the same temperature.

The forecast called for morning temperatures near minus 10 degrees Celsius in many parts of South Korea through the middle of the week. That meant the concern extended beyond a single night: residents, utilities and emergency services faced several days of sustained cold.

The Korea Meteorological Administration urged older adults, young children and people with weakened immune systems to avoid outdoor activities where possible and take special care of their health. Its advice also stressed limiting unnecessary exposure, maintaining body heat and staying hydrated.

Who faced the greatest health risks?

Older adults, young children, people with existing health conditions and households with low incomes faced particular risks during the cold snap. Inadequate heating or insulation can make it harder to keep a home warm, while a power outage can remove the heating that residents normally rely on.

Health authorities warned about hypothermia and frostbite during prolonged exposure to temperatures below freezing. Hypothermia occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can replace it and body temperature falls dangerously. Frostbite is an injury caused by freezing of skin and underlying tissue.

Symptoms of hypothermia include shivering, confusion, slurred speech, drowsiness and loss of coordination. Medical advice called for immediate help if those symptoms appeared. For families dealing with a blackout, keeping vulnerable residents warm was therefore a health concern as well as a matter of comfort.

The Korea Meteorological Administration advised those at higher risk to reduce unnecessary time outdoors. Its warning was especially relevant during a prolonged cold spell, when repeated exposure and difficulty warming up can add to the strain on the body.

Black ice also made roads hazardous, and traffic accidents increased during the cold weather. Black ice is a thin layer of ice that can be difficult for drivers to see. Emergency services across the country reported higher call volumes involving incidents related to the weather.

How authorities restored power and sheltered residents

The Guro District Office coordinated temporary shelter at nearby community centers and senior centers for residents who could not tolerate the freezing conditions at home. Those facilities gave affected households somewhere to go while repairs continued.

Emergency response teams worked around the clock to restore electricity and assist residents. Korea Electric Power Corp., South Korea's main electricity provider, deployed additional crews to address increased demand and equipment failures during the cold weather. Emergency generators were brought in to supply critical facilities in affected areas.

Guro-gu's restoration required equipment replacement followed by safety inspections. Because water had entered an electrical room, the work involved both restoring service and checking that the repaired equipment could operate safely.

Korea Electric Power Corp. also urged customers to conserve electricity to reduce strain on the grid. Its recommendations included lowering thermostat settings where possible, avoiding appliances that use large amounts of electricity during peak hours, and sealing windows and doors to reduce heat loss.

Peak hours are the periods when electricity use is highest. Reducing avoidable consumption during those periods leaves more room in the system to meet essential needs, including heating. Sealing a home against drafts addresses the other side of the problem by helping warmth stay indoors.

Why winter demand puts pressure on electricity systems

South Korea's electricity demand has previously shown how cold weather can change the load on the energy system. From 2009 to 2015, peak power demand shifted from summer to winter. During unusually cold conditions in 2010 and 2013, January heating energy consumption was substantially higher than the average for 1997 to 2015.

Those figures connect winter weather with the amount of energy needed to keep homes and buildings warm. When many households increase heating at the same time, electricity demand rises together rather than being spread evenly through the day or year.

Cold weather can also bring equipment failures and disruptions to fuel supplies. Energy systems face pressure from several directions at once: more heating demand, faults in the equipment that distributes electricity, and possible difficulty getting fuel to the places where it is needed.

The Guro-gu and Uijeongbu incidents involved specific equipment problems, a water leak and a transformer malfunction. Their consequences became more serious because residents lost heating during severe cold. A local electrical failure can quickly become an emergency for the homes connected to it.

The 2021 Texas winter storm offered another example of energy failures during extreme cold. Failures in natural gas infrastructure contributed to massive electricity outages affecting millions of customers. The shared concern is keeping energy supplies and essential equipment working when households need warmth most urgently.

What the research says about cold waves in Korea

Research described in the account of the cold snap connects severe winter weather with changes in the Arctic. Studies suggest that cold waves are closely related to the loss of Arctic sea ice and that continued Arctic warming may be associated with more frequent extreme cold in the near future.

The explanation involves the difference between a warming climate and individual episodes of severe weather. Changes in one region can affect weather patterns elsewhere, so warmer conditions in the Arctic can exist alongside periods of intense cold farther south.

Korean temperature data presented a mixed picture across different periods. Over the past 40 years, extreme cold events showed increasing tendencies in the lower 10th quantile. This means the analysis examined the coldest tenth of the temperature observations, rather than simply looking at the average temperature.

Over the most recent 10 years, however, nine of 22 monitoring stations showed decreasing tendencies. The contrast between the longer period and the shorter period makes planning more complicated: trends can vary depending on the years and locations examined.

The research also described extreme cold events as becoming more frequent and intense in recent years, particularly in regions with milder winter climates. For energy planning, the practical issue is preparing for periods when heating needs rise sharply, even where the pattern of cold weather varies across stations and decades.

Winter disruption beyond South Korea

Severe winter weather was also disrupting parts of Europe and the United States. Heavy snow, freezing rain and strong winds created problems for electricity networks and transport, with fatalities, flight cancellations and widespread outages reported in Europe.

France reported nearly 380,000 homes without electricity because of storm conditions. In the United Kingdom, more than 52,000 properties lost power. Fallen trees, heavy snow and stranded vehicles slowed repair efforts, making it harder for crews to reach damaged equipment and restore service.

Multiple states in the United States declared states of emergency as winter storms brought sleet, freezing rain, snow and temperatures below freezing. Air and road traffic were severely disrupted, while ice caused tree branches and power lines to snap. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were left without electricity.

These events placed similar demands on different energy systems. Heating use increased just as weather damaged equipment or made repairs harder. Potential disruptions to fuel supplies added another concern for maintaining reliable power during extreme conditions.

The scale varied, from individual apartment complexes in South Korea to much larger groups of customers abroad. In each case, the loss of electricity affected the ability of households to stay warm and of communities to continue ordinary services.

Daily life, transport and travel were disrupted

South Korea's cold snap affected schools, businesses and transportation services. Public transport experienced delays caused by mechanical failures in cold weather, while ice and snow made roads hazardous.

Airlines canceled flights and train services experienced delays. Travelers heading to mountainous or coastal regions faced particular difficulties because conditions in those areas were often more severe.

Residents adjusted their routines by staying indoors as much as possible, wearing multiple layers and turning to alternative ways of keeping warm when electricity was unavailable. In the affected apartment buildings, those adjustments became a necessity rather than a choice.

The tourism sector also felt the effects. Travel advisories warned potential visitors about hazardous conditions and the need for special preparation when visiting South Korea during cold weather.

For people trying to travel and for residents trying to remain safe at home, the continuing forecast mattered. With cold expected through the middle of the week, disruption and the need for precautions extended beyond the weekend outages.

What preparedness measures were being considered?

Officials were reviewing vulnerabilities exposed by the outages and considering improvements to help electrical systems withstand extreme weather. Measures included upgrades to electrical equipment in apartment buildings, better detection of water leaks and stronger emergency preparedness procedures.

Energy policymakers were also recognizing a need to plan for the possibility that extreme cold events could worsen over the medium term. Recommendations included emergency fuel cost support for people with low incomes and demand management programs to limit sharp increases in winter peak loads.

Demand management means changing when or how much energy is used so that the highest demand stays within what the system can supply. Another recommendation was to support heating needs through heat rather than electricity, reducing pressure on the electricity network when winter demand is already high.

Possible changes to building codes and construction standards included better insulation, heating systems that can operate during electricity outages and passive solar heating features. Passive solar heating uses building design to capture and retain warmth from sunlight.

Countries elsewhere were also reconsidering energy infrastructure and emergency preparedness in response to changing climate patterns and severe weather. In South Korea, the immediate priorities were restoring service, protecting vulnerable residents and managing continued cold, while the Guro-gu and Uijeongbu failures added urgency to discussions about future preparedness.

Key Points

• Morning temperatures were around minus 10 degrees Celsius nationwide on January 25, with Seoul reaching minus 11 degrees Celsius.
• A basement water leak left 939 households in two Guro-gu apartment buildings without power and heating for roughly 19 hours and 30 minutes.
• Guro-gu electricity was fully restored at 4:54 p.m. on January 24 after equipment replacement and safety inspections.
• Fire authorities rescued two people trapped in an elevator, and temporary shelters accommodated residents unable to remain at home.
• A transformer malfunction interrupted electricity to about 860 households in Uijeongbu for approximately two hours.
• Cold weather was forecast to continue through the middle of the week, with older adults, children and people with health conditions at particular risk.
• Road hazards, transport delays and travel disruption accompanied the cold, while authorities reviewed equipment, shelter arrangements and longer term preparedness.