South Korea evacuates 500 people over Gangnam slum fire
A massive fire broke out inside one of the last remaining slums in South Korea's capital, forcing 500 people to flee their homes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, authorities said.
Video posted online showed flames tearing through Guryong village, a shantytown in the shadows of high-rise luxury towers in Seoul's Gangnam district, which was made famous by rapper Psy's global hit "Gangnam Style".
No casualties have been reported and the cause of the fire is still unknown, they added.
"We are thinking of carrying out an additional investigation into the case," Choi Jae-young, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said.
Since 2012, the village has been hit by at least eight fires, Seoul's Gangnam district office, the local authority which oversees the area, said.
The settlement was formed around 1988 by squatters evicted from other areas of Seoul in the nation's push to develop its capital prior to hosting the Olympics.
There were around 550 households remaining in Guryong as of last year, according to data from the state-run Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, with many believed to be living with little or no proper sanitation.
The village is about as far removed as possible from the opulent, glitzy world of Gangnam -- an upscale district known for its luxury boutiques and apartments.
