Fire in Guryong Village in Seoul’s Gangnam District, Over 100 Residents Urged to Evacuate (Comprehensive)

On the morning of the 16th, a fire broke out in Guryong Village in Gaepo-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, causing significant damage to residents. The area is known as “the last shantytown in Seoul’s Gangnam.” As the sound of gas cylinders exploding continued at the scene, residents trembled in fear and paced anxiously.
Firefighters moved swiftly to bring the blaze under control. Residents appealed to police and firefighters, saying they could not see any fire trucks and urging a rapid response. Sirens and evacuation announcements blared continuously, but some residents were unable to leave their homes. One resident locked the door and refused to evacuate despite police orders, only coming out after about 10 minutes.
A displaced resident, identified as A, who had lived in Guryong Village for 34 years, sat at the entrance to the village watching their home burn and said, “I’m so stunned and dumbfounded that I can’t even cry.” Although police urged A to evacuate, A did not move. A said, “I couldn’t even grab the medicine I had at home,” adding, “The problem is that the government has done nothing and left us neglected until now.”
A nearby resident, identified as Shin (71), said tearfully, “I couldn’t even bring my four dogs with me and only managed to escape with my own life,” adding, “I’ve lived here ever since I got married.”
According to fire authorities, the affected areas are Zones 4 and 6 of Guryong Village, where 32 households with 47 residents and 51 households with 77 residents live, respectively. The number of displaced residents could exceed 100. Twenty-five residents from Zone 4 evacuated on their own and are staying at nearby schools and other facilities.
Jeong Gwang-hun, head of the Fire Administration Division at Gangnam Fire Station, said, “We have blocked the fire from spreading to a nearby junkyard and established a defensive line to prevent the flames from reaching Zone 5 and the mountain,” adding, “There were concerns that a forest fire could break out through Zone 4, but we managed to stop it.”
Because houses are densely packed along narrow alleys, fire trucks have had difficulty entering, making firefighting operations challenging. Fire authorities considered deploying helicopters, but thick fog and fine dust made takeoff impossible. A fire official said, “The helicopters are on standby, and we plan to deploy them if the situation worsens.”
No casualties have been reported from the fire.
ahnman@fnnews.com Reporter Ahn Seung-hyun Reporter