Choi Won-suk is a photojournalist at The Korea Times. Before joining the newspaper, he also worked as a photojournalist with AFP and St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri. He spent 13 years in the United States, graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism degree (Cum Laude) from the University of Missouri - Columbia and a Master of Arts in Photography from Ohio University - Athens. Over the past 11 years, Choi covered various news events such as presidential elections, the 2019 North Korea-United States Hanoi Summit and 2022 Qatar World Cup. But above all, Choi believes in local journalism and finds a lot of joy telling life stories of ordinary citizens in small neighborhoods.
Thousands flee wildfire in South Korea's eastern coast
A wildfire in South Korea killed one person and forced more than 4,000 people to flee their homes on Friday (April 5).
The fire broke out in eastern Gangwon Province on Thursday evening and spread to the seaside holiday city of Sokcho, burning about 385 hectares (950 acres) of land and 310 homes, warehouses and other buildings, Yonhap reported citing the government.
About 4,230 citizens had been evacuated to gymnasiums and schools, and 52 schools would be closed on Friday.
President Moon Jae-in has ordered the use of all available resources to extinguish the forest fire, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in a statement.
The government has deployed about 45 helicopters, 77 firefighting vehicles and 13,000 personnel from around the country to contain the fire. (Reuters)