Sinking Obong Reservoir water level reveals car that disappeared 20 yeras ago

As the water level at Obong Reservoir in Gangneung, Gangwon, dropped to record lows, a car buried by flooding two decades ago was discovered.

According to police and fire authorities, a local government official passing by during drought relief work spotted a submerged Daewoo Tico on a slope of the reservoir and reported it to 119 at 5:32 p.m. on Wednesday. No one was inside the vehicle.

The area would normally be underwater, but with the reservoir’s storage level falling to 13.8 percent, the dried-up ground exposed the car.

Police identified the vehicle’s owner, who was confirmed to have died in September 2003. The car is believed to have been submerged that year when Typhoon Maemi hit Gangneung.

Authorities said the case is not believed to be related to any crime, though they are investigating the full circumstances.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KIM JI-HYE [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]