Conversation Topic: East Asian Rainy Season ☔️

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By June, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (where around 98% of our students are) will have entered the “East Asian rainy season.” This weather phenomenon dates back as far as 145 million years and, as the name implies, brings large amounts of rain to the region every year from late spring to early summer.

How does this affect our students? Below you’ll find some questions you may want to ask as well as words and phrases (bolded) that you may want to teach when discussing this topic.

Rainy Season or “Plum Rain”?

First, you might find it interesting that the rainy season has a more poetic name in Chinese and Japanese: “plum rain” season. This is because the season coincides with the ripening of plums in southern China, where the term originated.

But why is the rainy season named after this particular fruit? This is probably because plums are often featured in the region’s art, culture, and of course food.

Plums are used to make many delicious treats from pickles and wine in Japan, teas and syrups in Korea, to chilled beverages and dried snacks in Taiwan.

I heard that the rainy season is known as “plum rain” in your language. Can you tell me about the relation between the rainy season and plums?
What’s your favorite food that has plum in it? What’s your least favorite?

Rainy Day Foods

While we’re on the topic of food, it might be good to discuss what people eat on rainy days. For example, South Koreans often eat Korean pancakes. One popular explanation is that the sound of rain reminds people of the oil sizzling in the pan.

We don’t know if this is the real origin of this custom, but we do know that the sale of Korean pancake ingredients increases on rainy days and these delicious pancakes are often paired with a sweet, milky white rice wine.

Two kinds of Korean pancakes with rice wine

I heard Korean pancakes are popular on rainy days. Do you like them?
Do you normally make them at home or get them at a restaurant or food stall? Can you recommend any places?

You might also have an interesting discussion about how the word “pancake” means something different in different countries. As Tutor Asja (🇧🇦) shares, “In Bosnia, we call pancakes what Americans call crepes.”

Back to the Rain

But let’s get back to the main aspect of the rainy season: the rain.

What’s your favorite part of the rainy season? What’s your least favorite part?
Do you prefer the rainy season or the hot weather that comes afterwards?
How often does it rain where you live?

People still need to go about their lives despite the rain, and in different countries, people stay dry in different ways. For example, in Japan, you’ll see people wearing rain boots, which is not as common in Taiwan.

How do you stay dry? Do you just use an umbrella? Or do you wear a poncho or a rain jacket?
What about footwear? Do you wear rain boots? Or just sandals or flip flops?
Have you ever ruined your shoes in the rain?

You can also ask how students stay busy during the rainy season.

What are your favorite things to do when it rains?
If a tourist were visiting your city on a rainy day, where would you recommend they go?

And of course, one less pleasant aspect of daily life at this time is the humidity and the mold.

Do any parts of your house or any of your belongings get moldy during the rainy season?
Do you do anything to keep your house from getting moldy, such as using a dehumidifier?

Why Rainy Season Matters

Finally, as annoying as the rainy season is, it’s also one of the main sources of a valuable natural resource: water.

Would you say the rainy season is important to your country?
In what ways do people in your country conserve water?
How much does water cost in your country? Do you think it’s reasonable?

In fact, Taiwan this year is experiencing its most serious drought in over five decades precisely because the rainy season did not happen as usual. And in 1994, parts of Japan and South Korea suffered major droughts as well when the rainy season failed to deliver.

When was the last time your country was hit by a drought?
What do you think your country can do to make sure there is enough water even during droughts?
If there’s a water shortage, do you think water should go to farmers or factories? Why?

While this is a more somber side of the rainy season, some advanced students might be interested in discussing it.

We hope this post has given you an idea of the East Asian rainy season and what topics you might want to ask your students about. Happy tutoring!