If you visit Korea in January, you’ll notice that almost everyone is wearing a long padded coat. On the subway, at cafes, even indoors, padding coats are everywhere. Korea’s winters are cold and windy, and people rely on public transportation and walking.
Long padding coats trap heat and make commuting more comfortable. Over time, padding coats also became a fashion statement, with popular brands signaling trendiness or status. In Korea, staying warm is practical — but doing it stylishly matters too. That’s why winter streets look like a sea of matching padded jackets.
Popular labels like Nike, New Balance, Discovery, and North Face are especially common, and even high school students often wear expensive long padding jackets. For teenagers, the brand of your winter coat can signal style, popularity, or social status. It’s normal to see students saving allowance money or parents buying one “good” padding coat that lasts the entire winter. In January, long padding jackets become a kind of unofficial school uniform outside the classroom.
Winter season in Korea runs November to March.
Vocabulary
- 패딩 (paeding) – padded coat
- 겨울 (gyeoul) – winter
- 추위 (chuwi) – cold
- 출퇴근 (chultoigeun) – commuting
- 유행 (yuhaeng) – trend
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