15. The Daeyeonggak Hotel Fire of 1971 lasted 10 hours and killed 166 people
Many people avoid the horrors of hosting Christmas themselves (to say nothing of clearing up afterwards) by taking a vacation. But on Christmas Day 1971, such festive self-indulgence proved deadly. Finished in 1969, the Daeyeonggak Hotel was a marvel of the Seoul skyline throughout in its heyday. 22 stories high, and boasting 222 rooms, the Daeyeonggak Hotel was reserved only for the wealthy. At Christmas 1971, the hotel was packed with wealthy patrons enjoying a luxurious holiday season. And yet it took only a gas leak to turn this symbol of Korean prosperity into a towering inferno.
The gas ignited, and soon the entire building was ablaze. The building’s great height tragically meant that the local fire department’s ladders could not reach floors 9 to 22, and 38 people died jumping from the windows. Helicopters were scrambled to aid the upper floors, but to little avail. In total, the Daeyeonggak burned for an agonizing 10 hours, killing 164 and injuring another 63. Investigations found that the building had been scandalously erected without an emergency exit, and that the main staircases did not have proper fire doors and so acted like chimneys to spread the fire.