The Gangneung area is experiencing a crisis in water for living and agriculture due to record drought. As the water level of the O Bong Reservoir, the primary water source, has dropped below 20%, restricted water supply has begun in earnest, and the community is preparing for a prayer ceremony for rain.
According to Gangneung City, the water level of the O Bong Reservoir was 20.1% as of the 21st, which is just one-third of the average level (69.0%).
It has rapidly decreased from 19.9% to 18.9% just a day prior, continuously setting record lows. The O Bong Reservoir supplies 87% of the water for daily use for 180,000 residents of Gangneung.
Since the 20th, Gangneung City has started restricting water supply by locking 50% of the water meters for more than 53,000 households. However, the actual number of households affected has only reached half, and water usage has not decreased due to the heat waves and tropical nights.
Water demand is actually increasing due to the influx of tourists during the summer vacation season. Gangneung City plans to lock 75% of the water meters and suspend agricultural water supply if the water level drops below 15%, but this point is likely to come earlier than the previously expected date of the 28th.
There are no forecasts for rain in the near term. The recent six-month accumulated precipitation in Gangneung has been only half of the average, and the outlook is for clear skies or just clouds until this weekend and next week.
In this situation, the Gangneung Danoje Preservation Association has decided to hold a prayer ceremony for rain on the 23rd at Daegwallyeong Sanshingak and Daegwallyeong Guksa Seonghwangsa. The chief officiant is Choi Jong-bong, chairman of the Gangneung City Development Association; the secondary officiant is Choi Jong-won, chairman of the Gangneung City Town Council Association; and the head priest is Shim Oh-seop, a traditional educator of the Gangneung Danoje Preservation Association. After the rain prayer ceremony, a shaman, Binsun-ae, will continue with a ritual praying for rain.
Binsun-ae, the head of the preservation association, said, "I hope that the fervent wishes of 200,000 citizens of Gangneung reach the heavens and bring the much-needed rain. I pray that the suffering caused by the drought can be alleviated, even if just a little."
The Gangneung Danoje Preservation Association is responsible for preserving and transmitting the traditional events of the millennium festival, Gangneung Danoje, which is recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. This rain prayer ceremony is also an event that embodies the community's desperate will to overcome the drought.