Old map showing South Korean forest fires in 2022 recirculates alongside false arson claim
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on April 14, 2023 at 08:42
- 4 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
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The forest fire map -- typically seen in South Korean TV news broadcasts -- was shared here on Facebook on April 3, 2023.
The map appears to show all regions of South Korea on fire, with the exception of Jeolla province in the southwest.
Dozens of forest fires broke out across the country on April 3, prompted partly by the dry spring weather.
More fires broke out just over one week later, with one eight-hour blaze in particular causing much devastation in South Korea's eastern city of Gangneung on April 11.
Korean-language text superimposed on the image read: "Current situation of forest fires across the country. Nationwide fires broke out nationwide except for Jeolla province".
The text goes on to say: "Lee Seok-ki said fires should be lit when important events break out!", referring to a controversial left-wing former lawmaker jailed in 2014 for plotting an armed rebellion in support of North Korea.
The post implies that the April 2023 forest fires were deliberately started by forces sympathetic to Lee.
It also implies that the Jeolla region was spared from the nationwide fires due to its alignment with such forces, playing into a long-standing regionalist prejudice in South Korea regarding Jeolla's propensity to support left-leaning parties.
The Jeolla region, which includes the provinces of North and South Jeolla, is frequently the target of discriminatory stereotypes due to the country's long-standing regional political divisions.
AFP previously fact-checked multiple false claims disparaging the region and its inhabitants, including here and here.
The same image was shared alongside a similar claim in Facebook posts here, here, here and here.
But the claim is false.
Old image
A keyword search on Google found the corresponding image used in a news report from South Korean broadcaster MBN on March 5, 2022.
The report was about the forest fires that broke out in early March of that year, affecting 14 areas in the country.
While no areas in the Jeolla region were affected by this series of fires, the original graphic does not include text claiming that it was unaffected.
In the original map, the areas corresponding to Jeolla and neighbouring Chungcheong regions were also not highlighted in blue.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the graphic shared in the misleading Facebook posts (left) and the original map used in the MBN report in March 2022 (right):
The claim that the Jeolla region was unaffected by the forest fires in April 2023 is also false.
According to a press release issued by provincial authorities on April 4, 2023, wildfires destroyed 382 hectares of forest in Hampyeong County and 127 hectares in Suncheon city, both in South Jeolla province.
The two areas were also mentioned in news reports cited in the announcements section of the country's National Fire Agency, as seen here and here.
The country's major broadcasters covered the blazes in news reports here, here and here. Their footage shows burning forests in Hampyeong and Suncheon alongside reports about the other 30 regions that were also affected in the same week.
'Accidental' fires
Jeong Cheol-ho, a spokesperson for the Korea Forest Service, said there was "no evidence whatsoever" suggesting the fires that broke out nationwide in early April 2023 were started deliberately.
"Regarding forest fires that occur in South Korea in general, 95 percent of such fires are caused by accidental factors, such as those set by farmers looking to clear their fields with agricultural burning ahead of the growing season in spring, campfires lit by hikers, or people throwing away cigarette butts," Jeong told AFP on April 13.
"While there are occasionally cases of arson caused by disgruntled people, this is extremely rare."
He continued: "The fires that broke out early this month were also accidental, there is no evidence to say they were caused on purpose, much less by a coordinated group of people."
AFP also found no official reports suggesting that the April fires were started deliberately.
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