Wild boars enter subways, palaces, golf courses as urban sightings surge

A growing number of wild boars invade urban areas, triggering safety concerns. Korea Times illustration by Shin Dong-joon

Wild boars are increasingly appearing in urban areas across South Korea, venturing far beyond residential neighborhoods to invade subways, royal palaces, golf courses and schools. As their population grows, authorities are waging a "war against boars," utilizing advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI).

On Jan. 12, a wild boar appeared on the elevated tracks between Guseo and Dusil stations on Busan Metro Line 1, causing trains to slow from their usual 70 kilometers per hour to 30 to 40 kph. The boar eventually left the tracks near Nopo Station at midnight and returned to a nearby hillside.

A Busan Metro official said this was the first incident of its kind and announced plans for a thorough inspection of potential entry points, particularly around open areas near train depots.

In October last year, a 1.5-meter long, 100-kilogram boar entered Ho-po Station on Busan Metro Line 2, biting a man in the restroom, breaking a glass door at the customer service center and causing chaos before being euthanized.

Seoul has also seen its share of boar encounters. From 2021 to 2023, nearly 1,500 sightings were reported. In September last year, a boar appeared at Changdeok Palace, a major tourist attraction, and was subsequently shot.

On Jeju Island, boars have wreaked havoc on golf courses. Since October, a golf course in Aewol-eup has suffered tens of millions of won in damages as boars dug up grass in search of worms. Similarly, a wild boar ran amok inside a Daegu elementary school last May before police shot it — fortunately, before students arrived.

Experts attribute the growing urban boar sightings to an increase in their population. Choi In-bong, head of a rapid response wildlife capture team, said, "Last year’s outbreak of African swine fever in Busan led the Ministry of Environment to ban the use of hunting dogs, significantly reducing the number of boars captured. As a result, their population has surged, raising safety concerns in urban areas."

In Busan, the number of boars captured dropped from 803 in 2021 to 273 last year, despite reaching 383 in 2019.

A wild boar spotted on the tracks between Guseo and Dusil stations on Busan Metro Line 1 on Jan. 12 / Courtesy of Busan Transportation Corporation

Authorities respond with tech, traps

Local governments are taking measures to address the issue. Seoul has installed 151 traps, 15.8 kilometers of barriers and other preventive structures along forested lowlands and key wildlife paths. Cheongju County, South Chungcheong Province, which captured 1,214 boars last year, has formed a dedicated capture team of 40 licensed hunters.

High-tech solutions are also being implemented. The National Institute of Biological Resources, under the Ministry of Environment, is using AI to analyze the movement and habitats of urban boars. Eighty surveillance cameras are currently installed on Mount Bukhan, with plans to add 150 more next month.

Jung Seung-kyu, a researcher at the institute, said, "We are building a system that uses data from unmanned cameras, drones and capture operations to predict the movement and distribution of urban boars. This year, we’ll focus on Seoul, expanding the analysis to Gyeonggi Province and other metropolitan areas next year."

A wild boar captured after appearing in downtown Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, Jan. 16 / Courtesy of Cheonan City

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.