Yeontan
Encyclopedia
Yeontan is the name for large coal briquette
s used in South Korea
for cooking and home heating. Made of coal dust
and a gluing agent, they were a welcome alternative to firewood and natural coal partly because they came in a consistent, stackable size and shape. There are 5 standard sizes for yeontan, and the 2nd standard is widely used in households. The 2nd stantard briquette is cylindrical in shape, weighs 3.5 kg, and is about 20 cm in height and 15 cm in diameter. The standard yeontan has 22 holes drilled into its top to facilitate steady, efficient burning, and a household typically used one to three briquettes per day in the winter. A new yeontan would sometimes be placed atop the current one when it was halfway burned, to continuously maintain the fire.
The same fire used for cooking also served to heat the house, through a Korean radiant underfloor heating
system called ondol
.
Introduced to Korea from Japan
in the 1920s, yeontan rose in popularity following the Korean War
. By 1988, 78% of Korean households used yeontan, but this fell to 33% by 1993 as people switched to oil and gas boilers, and was estimated to be used by just 2% of households by 2001. The boilers reduced the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning
, which was a major cause of death in coal-heated houses.
Briquette
A briquette is a block of flammable matter used as fuel to start and maintain a fire. Common types of briquettes are charcoal briquettes and biomass briquettes.-Constituents of charcoal briquettes:...
s used in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
for cooking and home heating. Made of coal dust
Coal dust
Coal dust is a fine powdered form of coal, which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizing of coal. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created during mining, transportation, or by mechanically handling coal.-Explosions:...
and a gluing agent, they were a welcome alternative to firewood and natural coal partly because they came in a consistent, stackable size and shape. There are 5 standard sizes for yeontan, and the 2nd standard is widely used in households. The 2nd stantard briquette is cylindrical in shape, weighs 3.5 kg, and is about 20 cm in height and 15 cm in diameter. The standard yeontan has 22 holes drilled into its top to facilitate steady, efficient burning, and a household typically used one to three briquettes per day in the winter. A new yeontan would sometimes be placed atop the current one when it was halfway burned, to continuously maintain the fire.
The same fire used for cooking also served to heat the house, through a Korean radiant underfloor heating
Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling which achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using conduction, radiation and convection...
system called ondol
Ondol
An ondol, also called gudeul, in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating which uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to the underside of a thick masonry floor...
.
Introduced to Korea from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in the 1920s, yeontan rose in popularity following the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. By 1988, 78% of Korean households used yeontan, but this fell to 33% by 1993 as people switched to oil and gas boilers, and was estimated to be used by just 2% of households by 2001. The boilers reduced the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
, which was a major cause of death in coal-heated houses.