[News Terms] 'Yangganjipung' That Worsened the Gangneung Wildfire Damage

Yangganjipung (襄杆之風) is a strong and dry southwest wind that blows from the Yeongseo region to the Yeongdong region due to a migratory high-pressure system from February to April. It means "a strong local wind blowing between Yangyang and Goseong Ganseong." It is also called Yanggangjipung (襄江之風), meaning "the wind blowing between Yangyang and Gangneung." In the Yangyang area, it is also called Hwapoong (火風), meaning "the wind that brings fire."

In spring, when a warm migratory high-pressure system approaches the Korean Peninsula from China, an inversion layer forms over the Taebaek Mountains. Normally, temperature decreases with altitude, but when an inversion layer forms, the temperature rises as altitude increases. Then, as the gap between the northern low-pressure system and the southern high-pressure system narrows, a strong southwest wind occurs. This wind, crossing the Taebaek Mountains, hits the inversion layer above, compresses, and its speed rapidly increases, with maximum wind speeds exceeding 30 m/s.

Smoke is rising from the forest area in Gangneung-si, Gangwon, where a large wildfire occurred on the 11th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards, maximum wind speeds between 18 m/s and less than 33 m/s are classified as Tropical Storms, and speeds of 33 m/s or more are classified as Typhoons. In contrast, in East Asian regions such as Korea and Japan, tropical storms are also recognized as typhoons, so Yangganjipung can be considered typhoon-level.

The wind, having risen to high altitudes to cross the mountain range, meets the hot inversion layer, loses moisture, and becomes very dry. Combined with its high speed, if it encounters embers, it inevitably leads to uncontrollable large-scale fires. It is the cause of large spring wildfires on the East Coast and the main culprit that rapidly increases the damage. Records in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty also mention large fires causing significant damage in the Yeongdong region, including Ganseong, Yangyang, Gangneung, and Samcheok.

The Goseong-Sokcho wildfire in 2000, which caused about 850 victims, the Yangyang wildfire in 2005 that engulfed Naksansa Temple, and the massive wildfires in 2019 that swept through Goseong, Sokcho, Gangneung, Donghae, and Inje were all influenced by Yangganjipung. The wildfire near Gyeongpo Lake in Gangneung on the 11th, which resulted in about 10 casualties and turned a forest area 530 times the size of a soccer field and about 100 houses into ashes, was no exception. Although wildfires occur nationwide during the hot and dry period of March to April, wildfires are more frequent and cause much greater damage in the East Coast region of Gangwon Province due to this wind.