Seoul Village Fire, Dinosaur Discovery, and Australia\'s Toxic Toadzilla

Seoul Village Fire

A fire broke out yesterday in Guryong Village, a densely packed neighborhood in South Korea\'s capital of Seoul, destroying roughly 60 makeshift homes and forcing approximately 500 people to evacuate. Hundreds of firefighters and several helicopters extinguished the fire in five hours (see photos). The cause of the fire is unknown and no deaths have been reported.

Home to 1,000 people, Guryong Village was formed as an informal settlement for people who were pushed out of their original neighborhoods under the city\'s redevelopment projects for the 1988 Summer Olympics. The village is considered to be Seoul\'s last remaining slum. It is located across a highway from the capital\'s affluent Gangnam district, which features high-rise apartments and luxury shopping.

Guryong Village, in which many of the homes are made with cardboard and wood, has had at least 16 fires since 2009. Seoul\'s government, in 2011, had announced plans to redevelop the area, but efforts have stalled due to disagreements between village residents and officials over land compensation and other issues. See video of the village before the fire here.

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