Oil slick devastates South Korea area

SHINDURI BEACH, South Korea — Chung Hwan-hyang surveyed the damage from South Korea's worst oil spill, saddened by the knowledge that the oyster farm she and her husband ran for 30 years was lost.

"My oysters are all dead," the 70-year-old woman said Sunday as she and thousands of others cleaned foul-smelling oil from Shinduri Beach. "I cried and cried last night. I don't know what to do."

Some 2.7 million gallons of crude gushed into the ocean after a collision Friday between a barge and a supertanker carrying more than 260,000 tons of crude oil.

For Chung and other residents of Taean County, nearly 100 miles southwest of Seoul, the spill brought despair and shock at how the pollution shattered lives and businesses.

The South Korean government declared a "state of disaster" as the oil slick began hitting the shore early Saturday, coming in waves of mucky, stinking crude. The spill now threatens the livelihood of an area that includes beaches like Shinduri and better-known Mallipo, which is considered one of South Korea's most scenic areas and serves as an important stopover for mallards, great crested grebes and others migrating birds.

More than 20 million tourists a year visit the area, providing an economic boost to the area's 63,800 residents heavily dependent on fishing and seafood farming.

At Mallipo Beach, about a 30-minute drive from Shinduri Beach, raw fish restaurant owner Kim Eung-ku was helping with the cleanup but said he feared the situation was hopeless.

"We have no choice but to leave this place," he said. "This ocean is dead."

Among those affected by the slick were 181 aquatic farms producing abalone, seaweed, littleneck clams and sea cucumbers, according to Lee Seung-yop, a Taean County official. There are about 4,000 aquatic farmers.

No detailed damage estimates for the area as a whole have been released.

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Contributing: Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul