On March 24, the third day of a major wildfire in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang Province, the blaze continues to spread through a hillside forest in Jeomgok-myeon. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — With the Earth’s average temperature now 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, climate change is no longer a distant threat but a force reshaping daily life in South Korea and around the world.
Wildfires are becoming larger, more frequent, and less predictable. According to Korea’s National Forest Service, the average number of wildfires has surged from 238 annually in the 1980s to 580 in recent years (2020–2023).
Damage from these fires has grown more than sevenfold, with the average burned area rising from 1,112 hectares in the 1980s to over 8,300 hectares today.
While spring (March to May) remains the peak wildfire season, nearly a third of wildfires in 2024 occurred outside traditional risk periods. Winter wildfires are also on the rise, with December and January fires more than doubling over the past three decades.
“Long-held assumptions that large-scale wildfires only happen in early spring no longer hold true,” said Kwon Chun-geun, a wildfire researcher at the National Institute of Forest Science. He noted that extreme weather has extended fire season well beyond traditional boundaries.
Rising temperatures dry out soil and increase evaporation, heightening fire risk. Projections suggest that for every 1.5-degree increase in average forest temperature, wildfire danger indices could rise by nearly 9 percent.
With forest temperatures in South Korea expected to climb steadily — reaching an estimated 17.7 degrees Celsius by the 2090s from an average of 11.9 degrees in 2000–2019 — fire threats are poised to escalate further.
The effects of climate change reach far beyond the forests—South Korean consumers are now experiencing them at the grocery store, where prices for cabbage, radishes, and other vegetables have soared. (Image created by AI/ChatGPT)
Climate Change Drives Soaring Food Prices and Collapsing Fisheries
The impact of climate change extends well beyond the forest. South Korean consumers are feeling its effects at the grocery store, with the price of cabbage, radishes, and other vegetables surging.
A single head of cabbage now costs around 6,000 won ($4.50), up 2,000 won from a year ago, largely due to delayed autumn heatwaves that disrupted crop growth cycles.
This phenomenon, often called “climateflation,” is also hitting fruit and seafood supplies. Last year, apple and pear prices doubled as frost damage cut harvests by 30 percent. In the summer, heatwaves decimated tomato crops, prompting fast-food chains like McDonald’s to remove tomatoes from some menu items.
The average price of a head of cabbage has risen to around 6,000 won. According to data compiled by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation on the 23rd, the average retail price of cabbage at major supermarkets and traditional markets this month is 6,121 won. Compared to the average price of napa cabbage, which stands at 5,506 won per head, cabbage is over 600 won more expensive.
The photo shows a shopper selecting cabbage at a supermarket in Seoul on the same day. (Yonhap)
The impact on fisheries has been similarly dire. Overfishing and rising ocean temperatures have nearly wiped out pollock — once considered South Korea’s “national fish” — forcing the country to rely entirely on imports from Russia since 2019.
Squid hauls have plummeted from 200,000 tons annually in the early 2000s to just 13,500 tons in 2024, a record low.
Mackerel and hairtail catches declined by 17.4 percent and 26.6 percent, respectively, last year.
Overall coastal fisheries output dropped 11.6 percent to 841,000 tons. High water temperatures have also led to mass die-offs in fish farms, causing record damages of 143 billion won ($107 million) in 2024 alone.
Globally, climate-driven price spikes in commodities like coffee and chocolate are rippling into South Korea’s markets. Arabica coffee bean prices recently exceeded $4 per pound, driven by drought conditions in Brazil and Vietnam. Cocoa prices hit historic highs due to extreme weather in West Africa.
South Korean coffee chains including Starbucks, Paul Bassett, and Pascucci, along with confectionery companies, have responded with price hikes, signaling that climateflation will remain a persistent challenge in 2025 and beyond.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
