A massive fire broke out at the Kumho Tire plant in Gwangju on Saturday 5/17. The fire was fortunately contained by the next day. According to the Korea Herald, “…As of Sunday, 462 firefighters and 168 pieces of equipment had been dispatched to the scene.” Kumho Tire is consistently listed among the top 15 global tire manufacturers. “[They] posted sales of $860 million during the first quarter of 2025, up 15% year-over-year and a first quarter high.”

From the Korea Times, “The plant is responsible for approximately 20 percent of the firm’s total tire production. According to the company, the Gwangju factory produced some 12 million tires last year, out of 61.39 million manufactured at its eight plants around the world.”

This isn’t the first large fire of 2025 in Korea. We covered a massive recent wildfire on

Our illustrated post on firefighters. And our illustrated vocab post on fire prevention and safety: part one and part two.

“There’s no smoke without a fire.” Learn this expression here.