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Streamer praised for rescuing dog trapped in Seosan flooding

Published: 18 Jul. 2025, 14:40

An online streamer going by Aegyeon is being praised for rescuing this dog that was chained and swept up in floodwaters in Seosan, South Chungcheong, on July 17. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A man is being praised online for rescuing a dog that was chained and swept up in floodwaters during a record-breaking deluge in Seosan, South Chungcheong.

A video posted to an online community on Thursday shows a dog tied to a shipping container with only its head above the rising water, struggling not to be drowned by the current.

As the dog flailed in the rushing water, a man approached. The water reached up to his chest, but he calmly soothed the dog, untied its leash and guided it to safety.

The rescuer was identified as a streamer named “Aegyeon,” who is active on the platform SOOP under the handle “kimpocinema” and has around 50,000 subscribers. Known for visiting disaster-stricken areas and creating related content, Aegyeon previously reported from the site of a wildfire in Andong, North Gyeongsang, in March and donated funds he received from viewers to support recovery efforts.

He reportedly discovered the dog while visiting a residential area in Seosan to document flood damage. After the rescue, he brought the dog to a nearby animal hospital for treatment.

Online users who saw the video reacted with admiration: “A few minutes later and the dog might not have made it,” “He risked his own safety — that’s incredible” and “He deserves praise for what he did.”

An online streamer going by Aegyeon is being praised for rescuing a dog that was chained and swept up in floodwaters in Seosan, South Chungcheong, on July 17. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The same day that Aegyeon saved the dog, Seosan had recorded over 438.5 millimeters (17.3 inches) of rain in the morning — the highest daily rainfall since local weather observations began in 1968, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The previous record was 274.5 millimeters on Aug. 2, 1999.

Seosan typically receives an average of 1,253.9 millimeters of rain per year, based on data from 1991 to 2020, meaning roughly 35 percent of the city’s annual rainfall fell in just over 10 hours.

The KMA described the rainfall in Seosan and surrounding parts of South Chungcheong as the kind of event expected once every 200 years. The 114.9 millimeters that fell in a single hour starting at 1:46 a.m. Thursday was described as a once-in-100-years level of intensity.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]