A man observes a destroyed garage in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang, on March 27, 2025. His property was engulfed in a wildfire in March 2025. [YONHAP]
Though more than a year has passed since the massive wildfire that tore through North Gyeongsang, many survivors are still battling the scars left behind, both mentally and physically.
Among the affected residents, 34.3 percent have been classified as high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a survey showed. The survey of 400 wildfire victims — 200 from Uiseong County and 200 from Andong — was conducted in February by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's (KDCA) National Institute of Health and the National Academy of Medicine of Korea.
“Even though a considerable amount of time has passed since the wildfire disaster last spring, 34 percent of displaced residents are still being classified as high-risk for PTSD, suggesting that clinically significant psychological aftereffects are becoming prolonged,” said Oh Sang-hoon, a psychiatry professor at Eulji University Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, who participated in the survey.
The wildfire broke out on March 22, 2025, and spread across five cities and counties in North Gyeongsang — Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang and Yeongdeok — and lasted for 149 hours, with fire authorities announcing that the main blaze was fully extinguished on
March 28, 2025. It became the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the nation’s history, leaving 30 people dead.
A higher risk for PTSD was found among displaced residents whose homes were damaged, at 42.1 percent, compared to 28.8 percent among those whose homes were not damaged, according to the survey.
Respondents with a prior history of psychiatric treatment before the wildfire were also more likely to screen positive for PTSD than those without any history, at 40 percent versus 34 percent.
“The destruction of homes and a previous history of psychiatric treatment were identified as key independent risk factors that intensified psychological distress,” Prof. Oh said.
Firefighters extinguish a fire at a factory building after a wildfire in Uiseong County, North Gyeongsang, spread on March 22, 2025. [YONHAP]
In addition, 24 percent of respondents reported moderate or more severe symptoms of depression, while 16.3 percent experienced moderate or more severe
symptoms of anxiety.
The survey also found that the physical health of displaced residents was worse than before the wildfire. A total of 63.8 percent of respondents said their health had deteriorated over the past year following the disaster. The number of respondents who said they had been diagnosed with or treated for respiratory illnesses, in particular, increased 460 percent, from 25 people before the wildfire to 140 people afterward.
As for newly developed symptoms after the wildfire, with multiple responses allowed, 71.5 percent of respondents said they had experienced mental health-related symptoms such as depression or sleep disorders. More than half, or 55.2 percent, said they had suffered respiratory symptoms over the past year, including coughing, sore throats and shortness of breath.
The proportion of respondents who said their memory or concentration had deteriorated after the wildfire also reached 64.5 percent.
Evacuees eat lunch at the Cheongsong National Sports Center, a shelter for evacuees from the wildfire in Cheongson, North Gyeongsang, on March 30, 2025. [YONHAP]
The KDCA held a forum regarding the survey on long- and short-term health impacts on wildfire victims and response systems on Saturday at the Seoul National University Hospital Cancer Research Institute.
“This forum will provide an opportunity to share scientific evidence on the health impacts experienced by displaced wildfire victims and build consensus on the need to establish a long-term follow-up investigation system,” said Kim Won-ho, the director general of the Department of Chronic Disease Convergence Research at KDCA’s National Institute of Health.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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