Farmers in South Korea, particularly in the Gangwon province, are facing a severe agricultural crisis due to an ongoing record-breaking heatwave. Reports from Yanggu county indicate that potato crops, which appeared healthy only a week prior, have suffered catastrophic damage. Growers describe the potatoes as becoming soft and collapsing while still buried in the soil, a condition they liken to being boiled due to the intense heat trapped in the ground.

Lee Sang-hyuk, a local farmer, noted that the damage is not isolated to a single field but represents a wider trend of crop destruction in the region. The soil temperatures have reached levels that effectively cook the produce, rendering the harvest unsalvageable. This event is occurring amidst a punishing summer across East Asia, where record-high temperatures have been recorded throughout South Korea. While the immediate impact on local food supply and market prices remains to be fully assessed, the visual and physical destruction of the tubers highlights the vulnerability of regional agriculture to extreme climate events.