At least 18 people have died as multiple wildfires rage across South Korea's southeastern region, with thousands of firefighters aided by the military deployed in a bid to contain one of the country's worst forest fires in decades.

Wildfires in South Korea have resulted in deaths, turned an ancient Buddhist temple into ashes and forced the evacuation of residents of a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Wind-driven wildfires that were among South Korea's worst ever were ravaging the country's southern regions, killing 18 people, destroying more than 200 structures and forcing 27,000 people to evacuate,