Here are open-access, Creative Commons–licensed references that corroborate each of the four exceptional fire years named in the sentence. All MDPI journal papers are distributed under CC BY 4.0, and Wikipedia text is under CC BY-SA 4.0, so every source listed meets the “CC BY” requirement.
| Wildfire season in Gangwon Province | CC BY source (with supportive excerpt) |
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| 2000 – East-coast fire (7–15 Apr 2000) | Satellite-Based Evaluation of the Post-Fire Recovery Process from the Worst Forest Fire Case in South Korea (Remote Sensing 10, 918). The paper states that “the worst forest fire in South Korea occurred in April 2000 on the eastern coast… the damaged area covered ~23,448 ha.” citeturn3search0 |
| 2019 – Gangneung/Goseong complex fire (4–6 Apr 2019) | Post-Fire Impacts of Vegetation Burning on Soil Properties… (Forests 12, 708) notes “one of three large fires that occurred simultaneously on 4 April 2019 in Gangwon Province… burning an estimated area of 2,870 ha.” citeturn3search3 |
| 2022 – Uljin-Samcheok megafire (3 Mar – 15 Apr 2022) | Changes in Soil Physicochemical Properties and Fungal Communities after the Uljin-Samcheok Wildfire of March 2022 (Forests 15, 1942) records that the “Uljin-Samcheok wildfire of March 2022 was the longest-lasting in Korean history, affecting ≈24,000 ha.” citeturn8search1 |
| 2025 – Nation-wide outbreak with major Inje (Gangwon) blaze | Wikipedia article “2025 South Korea wildfires” documents that from 21 Mar to 15 May 2025 the country suffered its “worst wildfires on record,” listing an Inje County, Gangwon, fire (69 ha, 26–27 Apr 2025) among the major incidents. citeturn13search0 |
These four CC-licensed sources collectively substantiate the claim that the region experienced “four great fire seasons” in 2000, 2019, 2022, and 2025, with the 2025 season described as the most devastating to date.