"Lost the Chuseok Peak Sales" Fire at Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market... Merchants Left 'Stunned' [Report]

Fire Breaks Out Early Morning at Seoul Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market
"Response Level 2 Issued"... 33 Fire Trucks Deployed for Extinguishing
Merchants Lose 'Chuseok Peak Season'... Collapse in Tears, Sighs Continue

At around 4:40 a.m. on the 21st, a fire broke out at the fruit and vegetable market in Jegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, and the fire department is conducting firefighting operations. Merchants are watching the fire scene with stunned expressions. Photo by Yeonju Kim, intern yeonju1853@asiae.co.kr.

[Asia Economy reporters Han Seung-gon and Kim Yeon-ju] "I don't know how such misfortune could happen to me."

As a large fire broke out at the traditional market in Dongdaemun, Seoul, ahead of Chuseok, market vendors were left stunned, some collapsing on the spot. Their hopes for the Chuseok peak season vanished amid the economic difficulties caused by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fire Agency announced that a fire broke out around 4:30 a.m. today (21st) at the Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market in Jegi-dong, and as of 7:40 a.m., 20 stores and others were destroyed.

The fire authorities initially issued a Level 1 response about 10 minutes after the fire report was received at 4:43 a.m. Then, at around 4:54 a.m., they raised it to Level 2, but after the initial extinguishing work at 7:26 a.m., they downgraded it back to Level 1.

Vendors who had been hoping for the Chuseok peak season could not hide their dismay. Some burst into tears, lamenting their fate. Park, who runs 'OO Sanghoe' and has been doing business at this market for 20 years, said, "I feel like I must have committed some sin in my past life. It has been tough all year, and I was only looking forward to the Chuseok peak season. (But with this fire) there is no hope," wiping away tears.

He continued, "I had all my goods stocked up, but it seems everything burned. I want to go in and check right away if I could. I can't do business. I borrowed money to stock everything, so what am I supposed to do now?" He could not hide his overwhelming frustration.

Watching the flames, vendors expressed their sorrow, saying things like, "Oh, what a waste, what can we do?" and "The entire Chuseok peak season is gone." Some vendors even called nearby merchants who were unaware of the situation to inform them about the fire. One vendor watching the scene sighed, "This year, misfortunes have piled up."

A fire broke out around 4:40 a.m. on the 21st at the fruit and vegetable market in Jegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, and the fire department is conducting extinguishing operations. Photo by Kim Yeonju, intern yeonju1853@asiae.co.kr.

Ha (62), who sells fruits and vegetables across from the fire-affected area, expressed his frustration. He said, "I've been selling fruits and vegetables for 20 years. This year has been really tough. It's the hardest ever. I came out last night, but I heard the fire broke out after 4 a.m. I don't think I can continue doing business."

He added, "Not only the fire-affected area but the entire market will suffer a big blow. The side where the fire broke out won't be able to do business at all. After a fire, cleanup is necessary, and there's no way to recover before Chuseok. This year is truly a hopeless year. Everything happened at once: COVID, the rainy season, Chuseok, and now a fire..." He trailed off.

Kim (71, female), who rushed to the scene upon hearing the news of the fire, said, "I heard the fire broke out while I was doing business. I came out last night. I have goods in the warehouse refrigerator, but I don't know if they burned or not. Everything looks bleak. I had everything fully stocked. It's complicated. I had dozens of pairs stored."

She continued, "If I didn't have a refrigerator, I would have put everything in the warehouse, but I couldn't. Who would have known such a thing would happen? It seems like my store caught fire. It's so hard," shedding tears.

On the 21st, a fire broke out at the Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market in Seoul, and firefighters are extinguishing the fire.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Complaints about property damage amounting to hundreds of millions of won due to the fire continued. Jeong (73), who has been selling fruit for 30 years, said, "Each store had stocked goods worth 50 million to 100 million won for Chuseok. We were supposed to start deliveries today, but this is a disaster. Today was the peak season. The goods we brought in yesterday to deliver starting today burned even more. The damage is huge, it's a big problem," showing a stunned expression.

He added, "(The affected stores) will be about 30 stores, which is a big problem. I had 70 million won worth of goods stocked. Even if the store is intact, the smell of fire makes it unusable. I operate a store in the fire-affected area. The store is completely burned, and I wonder what will happen to the fruits. I think I have to throw everything away," he lamented. Then he said, "These are small-scale merchants, and this is a big problem. We have to compensate for everything. We live looking forward to two holidays a year, but this year the rain made prices high. It's an enormous blow," showing a despairing reaction.

On the 21st, a fire broke out at the Cheongnyangni Fruit and Vegetable Market in Seoul, and firefighters are conducting extinguishing operations.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Passersby witnessing the fire scene also expressed their sorrow. Kim (63, female), who was near the market, said, "It's heartbreaking. It's a big problem during the peak season. I didn't lose any goods, but the fire will impact the entire market. These days, all self-employed people are struggling, and now this happens. What can we do? It's heartbreaking."

Another citizen in his 40s, Lee, said, "It's heartbreaking. I can't take my eyes off it. I often come to this market, but recently, due to COVID and other reasons, I felt the number of customers had sharply decreased. There were not many people passing by. Now that it's Chuseok, everyone stocked up on fruits hoping for some relief, but I don't know what this is. It's so sad. I wonder what will happen. Everyone must be deeply heartbroken," he lamented.

Meanwhile, 226 personnel, including firefighters and police, were dispatched to the fire scene, with 58 fire trucks among them. The fire is known to have started in a frozen storage warehouse within the fruit and vegetable market, and so far, no casualties have been reported.