Ondol

Ondol is a traditional heating method commonly used in the Land of the Morning Light. With four distinct seasons and a wide temperature gap between summer and winter, it is especially valued during the bitter cold. Fuel is burned to heat the floor from beneath. The section closest to the fire grows hottest and is known as the araetmok. Because it stays warm through the night, it is considered the best place in the room and is traditionally offered to elders, the head of the household, or honored guests. If the fire is stoked too heavily, however, the araetmok can become scorching hot. One traveler from Serendia described a night spent in an ondol room like this: "I felt like a loaf of bread slowly browning..."