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A 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Uljin, Gyeongbuk, today (May 22). This is the fourth time this year that an earthquake of magnitude three or more has occurred in the East Sea.

We will give you more details.

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The CCTV installed on a road in Uljin, Gyeongbuk Province suddenly shakes.

An earthquake measuring 3.8 on the western side of Uljin, 38 km southeast of Seoul, occurred at about 5:45 am as the sun began to rise.

Although there were not many reports of dawn, trembling was detected in Gyeongbuk, Gangwon-do and Chungcheongbuk-do.

Pohang residents, especially those who suffered heavy rainstorms, were fleeting for a moment.

[Ahn Tae Sook / Gyeongbuk Pohang City: (on cell phone) I was awoken by the sound of a pitrispit, and it came out that an earthquake occurred. My chest is rolling.]

Fortunately, there was no receipt of damage, and Uljin's nuclear power plants were operating normally.

Within the 50-km radius of the earthquake, there have been 75 earthquakes of magnitude two or more since 1978.

It is estimated that the East Sea was formed when Japan, which was attached to our country 23 million years ago, fell off to the southeast, and many faults occurred during the process.

In particular, the earthquake is said to have occurred between the Hoopo fault and the Ulleung fault.

[Kwang-Hee Kim / Professor, Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Pusan ​​National University: It is difficult to say that this area suddenly became active. It was a sea area where a large-scale earthquake occurred frequently in the past.]

There is an analysis that earthquakes occur frequently in our country due to the East Japan Earthquake in 2011 stimulating the faults of the East Sea, and there is a claim that the origin of the earthquake is getting closer to the inland.

A very strong earthquake of magnitude 5.2, which was 74 kilometers away from Uljin in 2004, occurred on a small scale, but much closer to the inland.

The government plans to conduct detailed surveys on the distribution of seafloor faults in the southern part of the East Sea by 2022.

(Image coverage: neural TBC, image editing: Lee Seung-hee)