South Korea's fishermen keep dying. Is climate change to blame?

1 hour ago Share Save Jean Mackenzie Seoul correspondent Share Save

BBC/Hosu Lee Boat owner Hong Suk-hui says the seas are becoming more dangerous

Hong Suk-hui was waiting on the shore of South Korea's Jeju Island when the call came. His fishing boat had capsized. Just two days earlier, the vessel had ventured out on what he had hoped would be a long and fruitful voyage. But as the winds grew stronger, its captain was ordered to turn back. On the way to port, a powerful wave struck from two directions creating a whirlpool, and the boat flipped. Five of the 10 crew members, who had been asleep in their cabins below deck, drowned. "When I heard the news, I felt like the sky was falling," said Mr Hong. Last year, 164 people were killed or went missing in accidents in the seas around South Korea – a 75% jump from the year before. Most were fishermen whose boats sunk or capsized. "The weather has changed, it's getting windier every year," said Mr Hong, who also chairs the Jeju Fishing Boat Owners Association. "Whirlwinds pop up suddenly. We fisherman are convinced it is down to climate change."

South Korean Coastguard Five of Mr Hong's crew members drowned when this fishing boat capsized in February

Alarmed by the spike in deaths, the South Korean government launched an investigation into the