About 500 people were evacuated after a fire broke out in the village of Guryong, the last remaining slum in the South Korean capital, Seoul.
Archyde.com and Yonhap quoted the fire agency as saying that the fire broke out at 6:28 am this morning (January 20) in a village located in the Gangnam area, south of Seoul. This village has about 666 families. Most of the houses are made of plastic plywood sheets.
Shin Yong-ho, an official at the Gangnam fire station, said that so far, no one has died or been injured, but about 60 houses have been burned down. Mr. Shin added that 170 firefighters, 300 government officials and 260 policemen were dispatched to the scene.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, called for maximum efforts in mobilizing all firefighters and equipment to minimize damage. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min also directed officials to prevent secondary damage and protect people living nearby.
Guryong Village is located in the southern part of the Gangnam area. The village was formed in the 1980s, when poor people in the area were forced to leave their homes amid the city’s development projects.
The last remaining slum in the capital, Seoul, the village is proof of inequality in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, as it sits next to the glitzy and affluent Gangnam district.