Soul
CNN
—
About 500 people were evacuated from their homes on Friday after a fire broke out in the village of Kowloon, one of the last remaining slums in the South Korean capital Seoul, fire officials said.
Gangnam fire department official Shin Young-ho said in a televised briefing that the fire broke out around 6:28 a.m. in District 4 of the village. First responders arrived about five minutes later, he said.
The fire was extinguished around 11:50 am local time, damaging an area of 2,700 square meters.
No deaths or injuries have been reported so far.
About 60 houses are believed to have burned down, Singh added, adding that most of the structures are made of vinyl plywood panels.
Videos on social media show the fire engulfing what appears to be a row of houses, a huge plume of thick black smoke hanging over the shantytown as sirens blare nearby.
More than 800 response personnel, including firefighters, police and government officials, have been mobilized and 10 helicopters have been deployed to assist in the response, Singh said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, was notified of the fire and ordered authorities to mobilize “all available personnel and equipment,” according to the Blue House.
Yoon also asked local governments to evacuate residents and ensure the safety of rescue workers, his office said.
Officials have long warned that residents of Kowloon are particularly at risk of disaster.
Seoul was also hit hard by floods last August that killed at least 13 people in record-breaking rains. Among them were the inhabitants trapped in the dingy underground houses “Banjiha” depicted in the movie “Parasite”.
![Gangnam high-rise residential complex in Kowloon Village, Seoul, South Korea, November 24, 2020.](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/230119223202-01-guryong-village-112420-restricted.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_270,w_480,c_fill)
The Kowloon slums have long been seen as a symbol of the wealth gap in South Korea, Asia’s fourth largest economy. In 2012, she became famous for Psy’s song “Gangnam Style” and is part of the affluent and glittering Gangnam district, sometimes referred to as Seoul’s Beverly Hills.
Gangnam’s high-rise apartments are less than a kilometer from the shacks of Kowloon, where many residents live in cramped temporary housing made of wood, tin and other materials.
Plans to redevelop the area date back at least a decade, but many proposals have stalled due to disagreements between local authorities and negotiations over land compensation.
These efforts are ongoing, and as of 2019, 406 households (more than a third of the slum population) have been displaced, he said. Gangnam Government HomepageMore than 1,000 residents are still living there, Gangnam officials confirmed Friday.
The district shared more redevelopment plans last May. local official It says the land will be transformed into an “eco-friendly luxury residential complex.”
Authorities are working to help about 1,500 families in huts in three major slums, including Kowloon, move into public housing instead, the Seoul government said in a news release last November. .
He added that the city ultimately aims to “eliminate abnormal dwellings such as huts and vinyl greenhouses.”