Water shortage grips Korean Peninsula

The worst drought in 12 years has a stranglehold on the peninsula and people are starting to get angry.

Residents in heavily affected areas have been protesting what they call the government's failed water management policies.

Provincial entities near a polluted southern river have waged a "war of water" to secure a reliable supply of clean water.

Over the weekend, activists and citizens called for greater efforts to deal with the threat from scarce and contaminated water resources at various events marking the March 22 World Water Day.

Korea has been categorized by the United Nations as a country suffering from a more than moderate level of tension because of its water supply. India and South Africa are also in that group.

The drought that began in July last year has left many parts of the nation -- especially Taebaek and other southern areas of Gangwon Province -- feeling the thirst for more water, with its rivers and streams close to being completely empty.

The Environment Ministry found that 124,917 people in 44 different cities nationwide were suffering from water shortages as of March 16.

Not surprisingly, residents of Gangwon Province took up the greatest portion with 59,121 people, followed by South Jeolla Province and North Gyeongsang Province with 22,566 and 21,957 people, respectively, ministry data showed. People in South Gyeongsang, North Jeolla and South Chungcheong provinces were also suffering limited water supplies.

The current water shortage crisis has led the Taebaek residents to form an emergency committee last week to demand the government offer three specific types of countermeasures by March 30: changing old water pipes, securing mid- and long-term water storage sites and declaring the area as a special disaster zone.

On top of that, Busan Metropolitan City and South Gyeongsang Province are in the middle of a "fight for water." Busan is asking Gyeongsang Province to share some of its water, but Gyeongsang Province is refusing to do so, even bracing for a battle against the central government if it is forced into taking such action.

This comes after Daegu in North Gyeongsang Province almost had to turn off its taps due to a high concentration of dioxane -- a substance possibly carcinogenic to humans -- that had been discovered in the Nakdong River. The river is a main source of water supply for many regions, including Daegu and Busan.

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