A record heat wave is affecting North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, with temperatures soaring as high as 39 C in densely populated Seoul. According to reports, over 18,000 people in Japan have been treated for heat stroke symptoms, while in South Korea, more than 2,200 people have been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses and 19 have died since mid-May. In North Korea, a doctor has recommended eating dog meat to supplement protein and beat the heat, citing its traditional status as a stamina food. The extreme temperatures have also led to the deaths of lions at a zoo in South Korea and the cancellation of baseball games due to fan fainting and collapses.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
A severe heat wave has gripped North Korea, South Korea, and Japan, causing widespread suffering and death. In South Korea, a record-breaking temperature of 39 C was reported in areas surrounding Seoul, which is home to 20 million people. As a result, 2,220 people have been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses since mid-May, while 19 people have died. Meanwhile, in Japan, more than 18,000 people were taken to hospitals for heat stroke symptoms last week. The extreme heat has also claimed the lives of animals, including lions at a zoo in South Korea. Authorities in both North Korea and South Korea have issued heat wave advisories, urging people to take precautions against heat-related illnesses.
Written for “East Asian Heatwave Records” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's tone is generally neutral, but it does contain some slightly sympathetic language towards the North Korean doctor's recommendation of eating dog meat as a way to beat the heat, framing it as a 'stamina food' and quoting the doctor's suggestion in detail. However, this signal is relatively weak and could be interpreted as an attempt at cultural sensitivity or simply a factual report.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.20 for article 515 · logged 2026-08-06
Record-breaking heat grips North Korea, South Korea and Japan
asserted
heat → break → Korea
Baseball games cancelled, lions die of suspected heat-stroke as temperatures hover in high 30s
Fans fainting at a baseball park.
asserted
temperatures → cancel → park
Lions dying at a zoo.
asserted
Lions → die → zoo
A woman taking shelter in a car found dead.
asserted
woman → take → car
The scenes caused by a record heat wave in Northeast Asia illustrate how extreme temperatures have gripped South Korea, North Korea and Japan.
asserted
temperatures → cause → Korea
In most of South Korea, a major heat wave advisory was in place on Wednesday as temperatures in densely populated Seoul, home to 20 million people, and adjacent areas soared as high as 39 C.
North Korean authorities have issued a heat wave advisory in many areas and called for people to take steps to avoid heat-related health problems.
asserted
people → soar → problems
Japan's anti-disaster agency reported more than 18,000 people with heat stroke symptoms were transported to hospitals during the week of July 20 to 26.
asserted
people → report → 26
Since mid-May in South Korea, about 2,220 people have been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses and 19 have died, according to a report from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
uncertain
19 → diagnose → Interior
About 17,140 livestock, such as chickens, ducks and pigs, and about 160,000 farmed fishes have also died.
asserted
livestock → farm → chickens
On Sunday, the southeastern city of Yangsan saw temperatures reach 42.5 C, the highest figure recorded since weather observation began in Korea in 1904.
asserted
observation → see → 1904
In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to view the ongoing heat wave as "a national disaster" and make every effort to protect lives.
asserted
Myung → instruct → lives
On Tuesday night, a spectator in his 20s collapsed while watching a baseball game between SSG Landers and LG Twins at a stadium in Incheon city, west of Seoul.
asserted
spectator → collapse → Seoul
Emergency personnel administered CPR and transported him to a hospital, halting the game for about 10 minutes.
asserted
personnel → administer → minutes
Another fan in his 20s fell unconscious and received treatment at the stadium after the game, according to the Korea Baseball Organization, which announced on Wednesday that all 10 games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled and would be rescheduled.
uncertain
games → fall → Wednesday
Min Son Yong, deputy director of the internal medicine department at Pyongyang General Hospital, told North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday that people should eat dog meat and fish porridge to supplement protein to beat the heat.
asserted
people → tell → heat
Euphemistically known as "dangogi," or sweet meat, dog meat has long been considered a stamina food in North Korea and is traditionally eaten during the hottest time of the year.
asserted
meat → know → year
- Analysis
Why Europe can't air condition its way out of extreme heat
- Analysis
asserted
Europe → condition → heat
How many people die from heat-related illnesses?
asserted
people → die → illnesses
The truth is, we don't actually know
Min also recommended watermelons, cucumbers, tomatoes, mung beans and ginger to cool down, the newspaper reported.
asserted
newspaper → know → ?
Dog meat also has been eaten in China, Vietnam and African countries, as well as in South Korea, which plans to formally ban slaughtering, breeding or selling dog meat for human consumption beginning next year.
asserted
which → eat → year
Woman dies of heat-stroke in quake aftermath
Japan's Environment Ministry issued a heat-stroke alert for most of western and southern Japan on Wednesday.
asserted
Ministry → die → Wednesday
While temperatures in the Tokyo region temporarily fell this week, intense heat continued to hit the country's south.
asserted
heat → fall → south
In the southwestern city of Kumamoto, relief and cleanup work continued following a magnitude 7.1 earthquake on July 28 that killed 38 people, including a woman in her 70s who developed heat-stroke while taking shelter in a car.
asserted
who → continue → car
Three lions have died at a Tokyo zoo, with a number of their animal peers developing apparent heatstroke symptoms.
asserted
number → die → symptoms
Tama Zoological Park said, Mugi, a three-year-old female lion, developed a loss of appetite on July 19 and was unable to stand the following day.
asserted
Mugi → say → July
Zoo keepers provided ventilation and a water sprinkler to cool her down.
asserted
keepers → provide → her
The lion eventually died on July 28 despite treatment with subcutaneous fluid, liver tonics and vitamins, the zoo said.
asserted
zoo → die → fluid
Two other female lions, Ichigo, 11, and Luena, 15, also died within a few days, the zoo said.
asserted
zoo → die → days
Autopsies showed dehydration and multiple organ failure in all three animals and officials say they believe heat was the cause of the health problems.
asserted
heat → show → problems
