GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Decline in the water storage rate at drought-stricken Gangneung’s main water supply reservoir has slowed down amid an all-out national effort to cope with the unprecedented crisis, municipal officials said Monday. The water storage rate at the Obong Reservoir stood at 12.2 percent as of 2 p.m. [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – With reservoirs at record lows and water rationing already in effect, Gangneung residents are grasping for relief from the city’s worst drought in decades. While local officials have staged traditional rain rituals, many Koreans are embracing a modern version — turning to social media with humor, superstition and collective [...]
GANGNEUNG, Aug. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — With its main water reservoir at a record low and emergency rationing already in place, the eastern coastal city of Gangneung will turn to an ancient tradition in hopes of relief. The Gangneung Danoje Preservation Committee announced Thursday it will hold a giuje, or rain ritual, on August 23 [...]
SEOUL, June 8 (Korea Bizwire) — A popular summer concert series featuring K-pop superstar Psy will make a comeback this year after two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The concert, however, is facing criticism for wasting hundreds of tons of water amid a drought in the country. The 44-year-old singer-rapper announced on Saturday through [...]
HONGSEONG, South Korea, June 5 (Korea Bizwire) – A severe drought accompanied by unusually high temperatures is taking a toll on South Korean farms, with the adverse conditions pushing local governments and the military to contain a crisis that’s showing very little signs of improvement. In South Chungcheong Province, fire trucks, sprinkler trucks and even [...]
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) – As a long-term drought continues in South Korea, apprehensive farmers are resorting to traditional rain calling rituals in hopes of better farming yields, with some of the ceremonies dating back to 500 years ago. Last Thursday in Anseong, a city in Gyeonggi Province, a Korean rain calling ceremony was [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The recent drought in Korea, still not mitigated by rain on June 25 and 26, is so severe that it is triggering the development of serious algal bloom in the Han River and rivers in Daegu and Gangwondo, causing stranding masses of fish in Goyang. Fishermen around the Han [...]
CHUNCHEON, Jun. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of artists expressed their support for farmers distressed about the worst drought in 42 years, by holding a rain calling performance on June 22 at the dock of Soyang Lake, where a dam has reached a record-low flow. A pantomime artist, a performance art director, dancers and a [...]
CHUNCHEON, Jun. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Residents in Chuncheon city’s Sinbuk-eup area held a traditional ritual for calling rain, to soothe pained farmers’ hearts caused by the recent drought, which is the worst the city has seen in the last forty years. About 100 residents and city officials participated in the ritual. Chuncheon saw its [...]
“The outbreak of the respiratory illness is fueling uncertainties just when the domestic economy started gaining traction helped by (a) rise in consumption. The measures will be unveiled at the end of this month.” “The MERS outbreak has started to weigh down on consumer spending and other areas. Sales at department stores and large discount [...]