Fire in Gangnam's last shantytown extinguished after nearly 13 hours
A fire at Seoul’s Guryong Village shantytown was fully extinguished after 12 hours and 49 minutes, affecting more than 100 residents and injuring one woman.
Firefighters battle a blaze in Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 27.YONHAP
A fire in Guryong Village, a shantytown in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, was fully extinguished early Wednesday after burning for nearly 13 hours and affecting more than 100 residents.
The fire started at around 3:50 p.m. Tuesday at a makeshift building in Zone 2 of the village. Firefighters brought the main blaze under control at around 10:05 p.m. and fully extinguished it at around 4:39 a.m., 12 hours and 49 minutes after it began, according to fire authorities.
Authorities deployed 232 personnel and 110 pieces of equipment, including six helicopters, and kept the fire from spreading to Mount Guryong and other nearby makeshift buildings. Darkness, a shortage of water and strong winds reportedly made the firefighting difficult.
Smoke from the fire could be seen as far away as Dobong District in northern Seoul and Anyang, Gyeonggi. Nearby residents said they heard several loud booms, which they believed to be gas cylinders exploding.
A woman in her 30s suffered minor leg injuries. No other casualties have been confirmed.
Thirty-nine residents evacuated on their own as the fire spread. The Gangnam District Office estimates that about 107 residents from 77 households were affected.
Flames and smoke continue to rise from Guryong Village in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on the night of Oct. 27 after a fire broke out earlier in the day.YONHAP
The office has set up shelters in nearby school gymnasiums and lodgings.
Guryong Village is an unlicensed shantytown — known as panjachon — that formed when people displaced by Gangnam's development in the 1970s and 1980s, including many whose homes were demolished, settled there. Gangnam has since become one of the wealthiest areas in Seoul and the country. The shantytown covers about 266,000 square meters (65.7 acres), roughly the size of 37 football fields, and is divided into eight zones.
The village has long been prone to fires. On Jan. 16 this year, a fire that started in Zone 4 spread to nearby Zones 5 and 6, and 258 residents evacuated. Major fires also broke out during dry weather in January 2023 and March 2022.
The densely packed shacks are made of highly flammable materials, including tteoksom (compressed cotton batting used for insulation), vinyl and plywood. Liquefied petroleum gas cylinders and exposed wiring litter the area, and there are no access roads for fire trucks.
Guryong Village is designated an urban development zone and is set to be redeveloped into a residential complex of about 2,000 public housing units in buildings up to 28 stories tall. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and finish in 2031.
Firefighters battle a blaze in Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Oct. 27.NEWS1
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
