"Wow, It's a Yongoreum"... The Identity of the Wind Soaring Like a Dragon at Gyeongbokgung

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A whirlwind shaped like a dragon ascending has occurred at Gyeongbokgung Palace in Jongno-gu, Seoul, drawing attention.

A whirlwind is blowing at Gyeongbokgung Palace on the 3rd. [Image source=Instagram capture]

On the 7th, a 20-second video titled "Yesterday's Gyeongbokgung Dragon Rise" has been gaining popularity on social media (SNS). It is reported that the video was taken by an elementary school student who went on an experiential learning trip to Gyeongbokgung Palace on the 3rd.

A whirlwind is blowing at Gyeongbokgung Palace on the 3rd. [Image source=Instagram capture]

The video shows a whirlwind of sand rising high into the sky from the dirt ground inside Gyeongbokgung Palace. Visitors nearby stopped walking and watched the sand whirlwind with curiosity. The person filming also exclaimed, "Wow, what is that? It's a dragon rise, a dragon rise." The whirlwind column moved several meters in a circular motion before losing strength and disappearing after hitting a tree a few seconds later. The sky was clear with almost no clouds at the time.

Netizens who saw this reacted with comments such as, "Is a small Imugi ascending?", "Since it's on the ground, it's probably not a dragon but the Taoist Jeon Woo-chi has come," "It's my first time seeing a dragon rise in real life, so amazing," and "It must have been fascinating in the old days; I understand why they gave it meaning."

However, the phenomenon in the video is presumed to be a whirlwind rather than a dragon rise, which is mainly observed near coastal areas. A dragon rise is a powerful low-pressure vortex with a diameter ranging from a few meters to several hundred meters. It forms when warm, humid air near the surface rises to form a cumulonimbus cloud, and a swirling wind near the surface ascends into the cloud. It is especially characterized by a narrow funnel shape.

A whirlwind is a phenomenon where dust or sand particles lifted from the ground form a rotating column. It is often observed in places like school playgrounds with wide dirt grounds, as seen in the video. Its height ranges from several meters to several tens of meters. It occurs when the atmosphere near the surface is unstable, mostly in spring and early summer. When the air near the ground is rapidly heated by sunlight, it creates an updraft that pulls in dust, forming a giant dust column. Such whirlwinds are short-lived, typically lasting only a few minutes at most.

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