Mother and toddler drown at Jindo beach while two older children survive

At Jindo’s popular Mysterious Sea Road in South Jeolla Province, a mother in her 40s and her 3-year-old son drowned after the sea receded and swept them away at about 1:51 p.m. The tide had been at its peak earlier that morning. The mother had been supervising her children from the beach and jumped into the water to rescue them. Her 6-year-old daughter escaped the water unaided and shouted for assistance, while the 8-year-old son clung to ropes at a nearby fish farm and was pulled to safety.

Both the mother and the toddler were rushed to a local hospital in cardiac arrest but were later declared dead. The Korea Coast Guard and local officials noted that no life jackets were worn and that the beach is not designated for swimming, despite frequent tourist use. Investigators are examining nearby surveillance footage to determine the precise sequence of events.