coal briquettes are not just for winter warmth — they’re a vital defense against summer’s humidity. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite a sharp nationwide drop in the use of coal briquettes for home heating, pockets of households in Seoul, Daegu and parts of Gyeonggi Province continue to rely on the fuel at nearly steady levels, underscoring the strain of rising utility costs and the persistence of aging housing stock.
According to a survey released Thursday by the Briquette Bank, a welfare foundation that tracks fuel use, about 59,700 households — roughly 0.1 percent of South Korea’s total — still used briquettes in 2025. That figure is down 19 percent from 2023, when more than 74,000 households relied on the fuel.
The decline is attributed to urban redevelopment that has moved residents into gas-heated apartments, the shutdown of briquette factories, and the aging of populations in neighborhoods where the fuel is most common.
But in poorer districts and shantytowns, where homes lack connections to gas lines or where residents cannot afford the higher costs of electricity and city gas, briquettes remain the only viable option.
Seoul reported 1,129 briquette-using households this year, down from 1,369 a year earlier. Yet clusters remain in districts such as Nowon’s Sanggye-dong and Gangnam’s Gaepo-dong, where residents of makeshift housing have little choice but to burn briquettes.
The highest concentration of briquette users was found in North Gyeongsang Province, with nearly 20,000 households, followed by Gangwon Province with about 15,800. By contrast, Jeju, Ulsan and Sejong each reported fewer than 70.
The report concluded that briquette households represent some of the country’s most economically and socially marginalized populations, increasingly isolated as South Korea accelerates its transition to cleaner energy.
With state support shrinking and private donations waning, the foundation warned, even the “right to warmth” is at risk for those left behind.
To bridge the gap, the Briquette Bank said it plans to distribute five million briquettes nationwide through March as part of its annual “Coal of Love” campaign.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
