It was not unusual to see midday temperatures soar to the 30s this summer. Seoul is a great place for relaxing strolls, but the stifling heat of August forces everyone to seek a cool shelter, or at least stick one’s head in the refrigerator. But rejoice! There is one place in Seoul that can satisfy those searching for teeth-chattering chill.

- Oh, it’s really cold. It’s a different experience to wear a thick coat and gloves. Look, they’re making us change. I wish I’d brought my warm hat.

This is the Ice Gallery, where ice rules year-round. People come here to get relief from the heat in summer and to see sparkling and mesmerizing ice sculptures in winter. Let’s talk to Mr. Lee Won-taek, manager of the Ice Gallery.

The Ice Gallery is open all year round. Each season is represented in our ice sculptures. Our unique ice experiences are available regardless of the season. There are events like do-it-yourself ice sculpting and a contest to see who can last the longest in the ice. Ice has a role to play even in winter. You don’t have to go to faraway places like Gangwon Province in winter to enjoy an icy and snowy environment. We have ice festivals every day. We tend to change the features a lot according to the season, because the makeup of our patrons differs slightly. Our themes are changed often to satisfy, in part, foreign visitors from warm countries.

The Ice Gallery is located across from the Jeongdok Library, right in the middle of historic Bukchon in central Seoul. This 265 square-meter house of ice features an igloo, an ice castle, and an ice playground, among others. Mr. Lee Won-taek says he opened the Ice Gallery in 2006 to preserve the scintillating, yet fast-disappearing works of ice sculptors.

I used to run an ice sculpture company with other sculptors 15 years ago. We made ice sculptures for outside events and hotels. The hardest part about the business was the delivery. Our artworks would break or melt during transit. So five years ago I came up with the idea of having people come here to see ice sculptures and ice artists put on ice carving performances.

The indoor temperature of the Ice Gallery is maintained at minus 5 degrees Celsius to keep ice pieces from melting, which is why visitors must be dressed in warm winter clothes. Those who are underdressed can rent winter coats and parkas at the entrance. Once they’re all bundled up, they’re ready to enter the world of ice.
Freezing chill envelops you when the large 1.5-by-2-meter steel doors open.

- It feels great in here. It’s so cool here whereas it’s sweltering outside.
- It’s a bit too cold. I feel like I’m at the South Pole.

Under the blue lighting, crystalline ice sculptures sparkle like sapphires. The gallery features several rooms, each dedicated to a different theme. Here’s Mr. Lee Won-taek again.

There are six rooms dedicated to such themes as the North Pole village, an ice inn, the Bukchon Hanok Village, and the lovers’ event hall. There are also rooms featuring the replicas of famous structures like the Leaning Tower of Pisa or the Eiffel Tower, and children’s playground facilities like a slide so children can play. The Bukchon Hanok Village is the last stop in the gallery. This room is decorated in a traditional manner, which can appeal to our foreign customers. The replication of world-famous architecture was also designed to make foreign visitors feel at home.

In the party room beyond the ice castle near the entrance, a two-tier ice cake, an ice piano, and an ice heart sculpture greet visitors for an impromptu birthday party.
Visitors are surprised to find the ice cake filled with various fruits.

- The cake looks so pretty and delicious. I’m glad to have my birthday celebrated like this.
- I want to break the cake and eat it.
- It’s very tempting.

Past the cake room lies the North Pole village with an igloo, complete with a polar bear, penguins, and a snowman. Beyond that is a cookie house from the fairytale Hansel and Gretel, except that it’s made of ice.
One thing that catches the attention of almost every visitor is the ice bathroom. People just can’t resist sitting on the ice toilet.

- I think my bottoms are going to freeze.

Just as tempting are ice chairs and beds, inviting people to enter the everyday world of ice.

- I came here with my grandson. This is a completely different world, great for children. It’s really cold in here, just like winter.

The European room contains the replicas of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Statue of Liberty in New York. After that, visitors come to the Korean room, where they can see the icy versions of Korea’s famous structures like National Treasure No.1 Sungryemun, Cheomseongdae, Korea’s first astronomical observatory, and Dabotop of Bulguksa Temple. Children’s interest in Korean heritage is reignited here. After a tour of the Ice Gallery people tend to forget that it’s sizzling hot outside. But it takes a lot of maintenance work to keep this place winter-like throughout the year, says Mr. Lee Won-taek.

Ice melts even at minus 5 degrees, because warmer air tends to travel up toward the ceiling, causing, for example, the wrist of the Statue of Liberty to melt. We need to then replace parts of the sculptures. Sometimes we have to redo the whole thing when the entire sculpture is damaged or melts. The average lifespan of an ice sculpture at this temperature is only three to six months.

Another popular attraction at the Ice Gallery is the make-your-own ice sculpture program, which starts on the hour and led by Mr. Lee Won-taek himself.
The first and easiest piece to make is an ice cup. It starts with carving a cylinder out of a block of ice. The ice sculptor first demonstrates how it’s done.
it doesn’t look that difficult, but chiseling away at hard ice is not an easy task for first-timers.

- I was doing well, but the handle broke. So I’m starting all over again. It’s really hard.

Clock is ticking away as people struggle to shape a cylinder and scoop out the inside of the ice cup. The cups are almost complete with only the handles unfinished.
Top finishers are chosen and the first place winner gets an ice crown and an ice flower bouquet as prize.

-I didn’t think I’d win first place. It feels great! I’m now wide awake with the ice crown on.

Those who didn’t make to the top three look crestfallen, which prompts Mr. Lee Won-taek to suggest another round of fun competition.
It’s a contest to see who can last the longest in ice water. Die-hard contestants test their brawn by dunking their feet into bone-chilling water.
People may be sweating and feeling exhausted in the stifling heat outside the doors of the Ice Gallery, but here the summer swelter is a piece of long-gone memory. But a respite from suffocating heat cannot last forever. It’s time to venture outside again. Visitors make a futile wish of taking home one of the ice sculptures in the gallery.

- It was an exhilarating experience. But I’m worried about going outside.
- I had fun.
- I wish I could have that ice bed and the slide in my room. I forgot about the heat by coming here today.
- It was fun spending time at the Ice Gallery. My irritableness is gone along with the heat.

The Ice Gallery is open from 10 in the morning until 10 at night. It’s a great place to escape the midday heat and also the tropical nights. The time you spent in the world of ice in the middle of summer will long be remembered as an exotic experience.