▲ Branches and various debris washed up by torrential rains during Liberation Day weekend are piled up across the sandy beach of Deokpo Beach in Okpo-dong, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, on the afternoon of August 19.
"Even just the day before the flooding, it was raining and customers were lining up. But now, there is not a single person here."
Jeon, a 60-year-old gallery cafe owner near Deokpo Beach in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, said this on the afternoon of August 19 while looking out at the empty beach.
With the summer vacation season nearing its end ahead of the beach's scheduled closure on August 23, not a single vacationer was to be seen on the sandy beach.
Merchants agreed that until August 16, right before various heavy rain damages occurred, tourists had flocked to the area despite the gloomy, rainy weather.
Recently, following a visit by the girl group Rescene—which features member Woni, who is from Geoje—tourists continued to visit, causing lines to form at nearby restaurants and cafes to reach full capacity multiple times a day.
However, the landscape changed overnight after record-breaking downpours swept through the area.
Tourists vanished, and large inflatable water park attractions installed in the swimming area were scattered around the beach, having been swept away by the heavy rain.
Water park operators spent the day wading through the water to pull out debris and recover the washed-away facilities one by one.
"Even the day before the torrential downpour, it rained a lot so I thought business would be slow, but the shop was packed twice," Jeon sighed, adding, "After sleeping for just one night, it turned out like this."
"There was the Rescene effect, and a water park opened so people kept coming," Jeon said. "Thinking this week would be the peak, I even ordered watermelon juice ingredients and salt bread, but with no customers, I am just sitting on my hands right now."
Choi, a 63-year-old restaurant owner who recently drew attention after appearing alongside Rescene in a video, is facing a similar situation.
"After the Rescene members came by, customers lined up every day," Choi said. "I took a day off on Monday because it is our regular closing day, and when I came back out, the sea had become like this."
"The beach is scheduled to close on August 23, but right now there is not a single person," Choi added. "With news of Geoje's rain damage coming out day after day, it must feel burdensome for tourists to visit."
Among those at Deokpo Beach on this day were travelers who had visited Geoje for tourism but ended up volunteering for flood recovery efforts.
Kim, a 49-year-old resident of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, is a longtime fan of Rescene and had planned to take time off to travel to Geoje.
"As a Rescene fan, I took a vacation to come play during this period, but with the situation like this, I thought I should just do flood recovery volunteering instead," Kim said. "For three days, I helped with recovery work for elderly residents connected by Geoje City."
"Today, I tried to help with recovery at the beach where Rescene had visited, but it seems like more than what one person can handle," Kim said. "It is bittersweet to see the place I originally intended to visit for fun end up like this."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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