NOW

Coal briquettes have nearly vanished from ordinary urban winters, but they were once Korea’s dominant household fuel. A Seoul city article citing industry history puts household use at 77.8% in 1988.

SEOUL ONCE NEEDED ABOUT 10 MILLION A DAY

At peak use, roughly ten million briquettes a day were needed to get Seoul through winter.

WHY THEY FADED

City-gas pipelines and cleaner, more convenient fuels spread rapidly through urban housing.

Sources & context

2026-09-18

mediahub.seoul.go.kr ↗