SBS "Tails of Tales" spotlights the people who risked everything during the 2025 North Gyeongsang wildfire, remembered as one of the worst wildfires in Korea.
Airing on the 9th, the episode titled “2025: The Red Monster” features survivors who recount the harrowing moments inside the blaze and the rescuers who fought the flames to save lives as fire closed in from every direction. Joining as listeners are former national skeleton athlete Yun Sung-bin, actor Kim Yumi, and YOUNGHOON of THE BOYZ.
In March 2025, a historic megafire erupted. The “North Gyeongsang Wildfire,” which tore through Uiseong, Andong, Cheongsong, Yeongyang, Yeongdeok and beyond, swallowed forests and villages covering an area 1.6 times the size of Seoul. Countless residents lost homes and loved ones.
On the broadcast, those who battled the inferno on the front lines describe scenes that felt like the middle of hell. A fisherman who saw a village turn into a sea of fire within moments―flame pillars shooting up, fireballs flying, choking smoke making it impossible to see―recalls, “Calling it hell feels accurate.” Watching footage from the time, MC Jang Sung-kyu says, “So this is what people mean by hellfire,” voicing fear at the monstrous blaze that devoured everything.
Tearful firsthand accounts from wildfire lookouts and firefighters who staked their lives to contain the flames capture the urgency. A radio call from the Gyeongbuk 119 Special Response Team leader―“Steel yourselves, and make one call to your families”―conveys just how grave and intense the situation was. One wildfire lookout who traveled from Yeongdeok to Uiseong to fight the fire all day without even stopping to eat shares how, in that time, the blaze spread back to Yeongdeok―where his family was―leaving a heavy ache.
When the story emerges that the lookout lost contact while racing back to Yeongdeok to save his family, worry floods the "Tails of Tales" studio. Kim Yumi fights back tears, saying, “I would have run home to my family too.” YOUNGHOON of THE BOYZ adds, “I think I’d live with the urge to cry for the rest of my life,” revealing his devastation. Yun Sung-bin says, “I can’t even imagine,” choking up over the families’ grief.
The episode shares the brutal reality of the “North Gyeongsang Wildfire” and the courage of everyday heroes―a fisherman, wildfire lookouts, firefighters, and the Korea Coast Guard―who risked their lives to protect others inside a firestorm that seemed ready to consume everything. "Tails of Tales" airs Thursday the 9th at 10:20 p.m.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)