Go to contents

Canned oxygen

Posted January. 20, 2018 07:25,   

Updated January. 20, 2018 08:35

한국어

The idea of selling air has been a joke until recently, but now it is a lucrative business. British pure oxygen supplier Ether has introduced various types of canned oxygen on the market. What is written on the outside of the canister containing oxygen is its place of origin such as Wales, Yorkshire and Dorset, making one wonder if they taste or smell different. Ether’s canned oxygen products are sold at the same price regardless of their different places of origin at 80 pound for a 580ml bottle.

The air collecting technology, which is named “air farming” by Ether, is quite simple. Early in the morning, their employees climb up the mountain or go down the valley to collect oxygen using an instrument that looks like a butterfly catcher. And then they put the oxygen in airtight containers and all is done. They sell the finished products mostly to China. Last year, a Korean company built a factory in Korea to put fresh air from Mount Jiri into containers. The company sells a bottle of oxygen at 15,000 won. The company says they collect oxygen from the restricted area located at an altitude of 800 meters.

It has become a daily routine for many Koreans to check the air quality forecast as they are suffering from the ultrafine and yellow dusts that come from China. People are experiencing sore eyes and throats due to the high toxicity of fine dust. The idea of buying fresh air is not a joke anymore in Korea as well. Canned oxygen and portable bottled oxygen are gaining popularity in Korea as many regions are frequently blanketed with toxic fine dust. An online seller selling canned oxygen has seen its sales hike by 166 percent. The sales for “nosks,” mask for nose, and expensive air purifiers are on the sharp rise as well.

“The best things in life are free” is a famous quote by French fashion designer Gabrielle Coco Chanel. To be sure, what she meant by the best things was love, friendship and family. But the air all living things on Earth enjoy as much as they want for free is also one of the best things given to us. It will be too late to regret when it becomes natural to buy oxygen and fresh air becomes luxury only few people can enjoy. The reason why there is no price tag on the best things in life is because they are so valuable that their values cannot be estimated.