"The water used to reach the embankment under the bridge, but now it has dropped this much. It feels like there is nowhere left to escape the heat."

On the afternoon of July 31, Georak Valley in Jinjeon-myeon, Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

Park, a 72-year-old resident met at this popular summer getaway in Changwon known for its clean water and abundant flow, said, "As the weather has been dry and the valley water is drying up, about a third of this summer's vacationers just turn around and go back."

"It is the first time in my life I have seen the water this shallow," he explained. "It seems the low water level and scorching heat have scared vacationers away altogether."

True to Park's words, the area around Georak Valley remained quiet even on this day, which fell right in the peak vacation period of late July and early August.

The daytime temperature around Masanhappo-gu soared to 39°C (102°F) on this day, marking the highest temperature recorded since observations began in 1985.

Despite this, there were not many vacationers.

Even the few visitors who came were more likely to pitch tents on the embankment next to the valley or rest under the tree shade rather than play in the water.

Vacationers agreed that the atmosphere this year is markedly different from past years when the valley was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

Kang, a 45-year-old resident who visited the valley with his family from Seongsan-gu, Changwon, said, "It feels like there are noticeably fewer people compared to when I visited in the past, and the water level seems to have dropped as well."

Kim, a resident in their 50s who was resting on top of the embankment after swimming with their teenage children who are on summer vacation, shared, "I came to Georak Valley last year too, but the water depth was not this low." They added, "Perhaps due to the intense sunlight, there appeared to be some algae forming while swimming."

They then hinted, "Still, the number of people has definitely decreased, so it does not seem too bad for hanging out."

Self-employed workers near the valley also felt the difference in this year's valley conditions.

A, a business owner in their 40s running a cafe nearby, said, "Customers who came for vacation after seeing Georak Valley on blogs complain that 'there is hardly any water,' and our store sales this year have dropped compared to last year."

According to the Masanhappo-gu Office in Changwon, the water level around Georak Valley rises by about 60 centimeters when it rains heavily, but recently, with the overlapping heatwaves and drought, it has shrunk to around 30 centimeters.

In fact, the cumulative precipitation in Masanhappo-gu from January to July this year was recorded at 543.9 millimeters.

This is about 74 percent of the cumulative precipitation of 738.3 millimeters during the same period last year.

To raise the water level, water could be released from sources such as Haengam Reservoir connected to the valley, but it is realistically difficult due to water security issues caused by the drought.

Other valleys and streams in South Gyeongsang Province are in a similar situation to Georak Valley.

Daejangcheon Valley in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, a representative summer resort, also saw its water volume drop, exposing the riverbed in places.

This year's cumulative number of visitors to the Daejangcheon Tourist Resort stood at 3,380, a significant drop of 73 percent compared to 12,517 during the same period last year.

Because of this, an official from Jinhae-gu stated, "As the area around the valley is shaded, it is cooler than other places, but due to recent impacts like the heatwave, the valley has almost completely dried up, leading to a sharp drop in users." They added, "Even so, we are continuously implementing safety management to prevent visitors to the valley from getting hurt on the exposed bedrock."

(Photo: Yonhap News)