S Korean firefighters tackle huge blaze in last of Seoul’s ‘shanty towns’

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by Al JazeeraJanuary 16, 2026 at 05:41 AM
S Korean firefighters tackle huge blaze in last of Seoul’s ‘shanty towns’

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

A large fire broke out in Guryong Village, one of Seoul's last remaining shanty towns, early Friday morning, January 16, 2026. Located on the edge of the affluent Gangnam district, the blaze prompted the deployment of approximately 300 firefighters and 85 fire trucks to contain the flames and prevent them from spreading to a nearby mountain. Authorities raised the fire alert to the second-highest level. Dozens of residents were forced to evacuate their homes, but there were no initial reports of casualties. Poor visibility hampered the use of a firefighting helicopter. The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

Keywords

fire 100% seoul 90% shanty town 80% firefighters 70% guryong village 70% gangnam district 60% evacuation 50% south korea 50% blaze 40%

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Negative
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Source Transparency

Source
Al Jazeera
Political Lean
Center (0.00)
Far LeftCenterFar Right
Classification Confidence
90%
Geographic Perspective
Seoul

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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