South Korea fire spurs evacuation of 500 from shanty town

Firefighters working to put out the fire at Guryong village on Jan 20, 2023. - Reuters

SEOUL (Reuters): About 500 people were evacuated on Friday (Jan 20) after fire broke out in a shanty town in the South Korean capital, Seoul, burning down some 60 houses, fire authorities said.

The fire erupted at 6:27am local time in Guryong Village in southern Seoul, which is home to more than 660 households, and was extinguished about five hours later.