[Reporter’s Notebook] Still, Stay Strong, Gyeongbuk!

Population Decline and Aging Intensify the Pain for the Displaced
Hope Rises Amidst Relief and Reconstruction Efforts

In Andong and Uiseong, North Gyeongsang Province, which were devastated by the so-called 'monster wildfire,' the scene felt like a war zone. Houses had collapsed, and farmland was reduced to ashes. Chickens in their coops were burned to death, and dogs tied to leashes did not even bark at strangers. One could only imagine how the people must feel.

Residents who lost their homes are now staying in shelters set up in gymnasiums or closed schools. The presence of 'freedom' distinguishes these places from internment camps. However, the uncertainty about how to move forward remains the same. One resident, holding a fairly well-prepared lunchbox, remarked, "Still, I much preferred the days when I could eat rice with kimchi soup at home."

North Gyeongsang Province is the largest in area among all metropolitan provinces, but its population does not reflect that. The region is experiencing rapid depopulation. Since the 1980s, the population has been steadily declining. Out of North Gyeongsang's 22 cities and counties, 10-including Uiseong and Cheongsong-are classified as high-risk areas for population extinction. This largely overlaps with the areas affected by the wildfire. In an effort to slow the population decline, Uiseong even invested tax money to create a youth return-to-farming community called 'Goun Village.' The entire village was destroyed by this wildfire. It is said that the young people who had returned to farm have left for the cities again.

A resident I met in Hupyeong-ri, Danchon-myeon, Uiseong County, said, "Like the victims of the 2017 Pohang earthquake, we may have to live as wanderers for years." The Pohang earthquake was comparatively better; the victims were relatively young. The wildfire victims are not. Most of the deceased, injured, and displaced are elderly with graying hair. Some of the elderly people I met on site confided, "Even if I die, I want to die in my own home." A surge of emotion welled up inside me.

Still, stay strong, North Gyeongsang! This is a region that has overcome countless hardships. It is the land that defended the Republic of Korea during the Korean War. It is a place where volunteer soldiers rose up whenever the nation was in crisis. During the 2010 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, the region was hit hard, but livestock farmers organized self-help groups for vaccination, and after much effort, they overcame the crisis in two and a half years.

While covering the story in the alleys of Gugae 1-ri, Uiseong County, which had been turned to ruins by the wildfire, I stepped on concrete that had not yet fully set. The recovery from the wildfire had already begun. One resident said, "A native of North Gyeongsang who now lives elsewhere sent a ready-mix concrete truck early in the morning." Everywhere I went, volunteers gathered, sweating as they worked. Among them were victims whose own homes had been completely destroyed. Donations from companies, former residents, and citizens have already reached nearly 100 billion won. In Jeolla and Chungcheong provinces, local festivals that had been prepared for a full year are being scaled back or held in a subdued manner out of respect.

Even in the midst of despair, the flower of hope is beginning to bloom.