"Tension over approaching typhoon, then a prank?"... Busan City exclaims 'Wow' at news of Hinnamnor

On the 1st, the Busan city government posted news about the northward approach of Typhoon Hinnamnor, the 11th typhoon, on its official SNS but later deleted it.
[Photo by Online Community Capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Typhoon No. 11 'Hinnamnor' is expected to make landfall in Busan and the Gyeongnam area on the 6th. The typhoon's power is anticipated to be stronger than when 'Sarah' in 1959 or 'Maemi' in 2003 made landfall, raising concerns about significant damage. In this situation, the Busan city government posted news of the typhoon along with a photo of a fan on its official social media service (SNS) account but suddenly deleted it. This sparked criticism for trivializing a national emergency.

On the 3rd, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted that Typhoon No. 11 Hinnamnor would make landfall around 9 a.m. on the 6th, approximately 70 km southwest of Busan. According to the KMA, the central pressure of Hinnamnor at the time of landfall in the Busan area is estimated to be 950 hPa (hectopascals). This is lower than the lowest central pressures recorded at landfall for Sarah in 1959 (951.5 hPa) and Maemi in 2003 (954.0 hPa). The lower the central pressure of a typhoon, the stronger its force to draw in surrounding air, intensifying its power.

As Hinnamnor's intensity is expected to approach or surpass that of Maemi, the government has also taken measures. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a meeting with related agencies at 10 a.m. on the 3rd to communicate key management points for typhoon preparedness. They also ordered an all-out response to minimize casualties and activated Level 1 of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. The typhoon and heavy rain crisis alert level was raised from 'Interest' to 'Caution.'

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is presiding over a countermeasure meeting with related agencies on the 11th typhoon 'Hinnamnor' at the Government Seoul Office Situation Center on the morning of the 3rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Busan city, expected to be within the typhoon's influence, recently announced the northward movement of Hinnamnor through its official SNS. On the 1st, Busan posted on Instagram, "Super-strong Typhoon No. 11 Hinnamnor moving north, direct and indirect effects on Busan area from the weekend."

The problem was the photo posted along with this. Busan posted a photo featuring a red fan with a typhoon pattern and the exclamation "Wa" written on it.

This prompted some to recall the concept of singer Lee Jung-hyun's song "Wa." Lee Jung-hyun gained great popularity in 1999 with choreography using a red fan during her activities for "Wa." Netizens criticized, saying, "I was tense about the typhoon news but now I'm angry," "Is disaster a joke?" "Please use official accounts officially," "Fanning a burning house," and "Keep it appropriate."

As the controversy grew, Busan city explained, "We intended to express the blue eye in the red fan, a prop from the concept of singer Lee Jung-hyun's 1990s song title 'Wa,' as the eye of the typhoon to inform that Typhoon Hinnamnor is moving north." They added, "Through citizens' comments, we belatedly judged this expression to be inappropriate," and "We will be more careful in posting content in the future."

The controversial post has been deleted, and a new post with guidelines for preparing for Hinnamnor's northward movement has been uploaded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.