In short
Rotten Mango Podcast Episode #276: Angry Korean Son “Casually” Kills 6 People After Fight With Mom & Got Away With It
Episode Overview In this episode of *Rotten Mango*, the host delves into a tragic incident that took place in Seoul, South Korea, where the actions of a mentally troubled son led to the deaths of six firefighters. The narrative explores the circumstances leading to the fire, the heroic but doomed efforts of the firefighters, and the subsequent societal implications regarding the treatment and funding of firefighters in South Korea.
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Key Points
The Incident
- Date & Location: March 3, 2001, in Seoul, South Korea.
- Firefighter Details:
- Kwon Yongcheol, a firefighter, left for work, knowing he would be away for 24 hours.
- The night ended tragically when six firefighters from his station perished in a fire responding to a call that turned out to be based on false assumptions.
The Fire
- False Alarm: Firefighters were initially called at 3 a.m. about smoke but found no fire. Shortly thereafter, they received another call about a two-story house engulfed in flames.
- Obstruction: Upon arrival, illegal parking along the only access road prevented their fire trucks from reaching the scene promptly.
- Fire Conditions: The fire was severe; flames shot out of multiple windows, indicating that survival chances were minimal.
Heroic Efforts and Tragedy
- Attempts to Rescue: Despite knowing the risks, firefighters entered the burning building to search for the homeowner's son, who was believed to be trapped inside.
- Collapse: At 4:11 a.m., shortly after firefighters began searching, the building collapsed, trapping ten firefighters and the homeowner’s son under debris.
- Casualties: Six firefighters died in the collapse while searching for the son, whose fate took a shocking turn.
The Unraveling Truth
- Homeowner's Son: Choi, the 32-year-old son, had a history of mental illness and had left the scene, ultimately leading to the revelation that he was not in the house.
- Firestarter: Choi had started the fire intentionally after an argument with his mother, which he downplayed, claiming he thought it would "fizzle out."
Societal Impact
- Aftermath: The deaths of the firefighters led to widespread protests and calls for better treatment and funding for South Korean firefighters, exposing systemic issues in their occupational safety and job conditions.
- Funding Issues: Firefighters in South Korea were underfunded, overworked, and lacked adequate protective gear compared to their international counterparts.
Legal Consequences
- Choi’s Sentencing: Choi was arrested but only charged with arson and building damage. His mental health history led to a reduced sentence of five years for his actions, which did not account for the firefighter fatalities.
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Key Takeaways
- Mental Health Awareness: The case highlights the severe implications of untreated mental illness and the responsibilities that come with caring for individuals suffering from such issues.
- Firefighter Safety: The episode underscores the dangerous conditions under which firefighters work, including inadequate training, resources, and support from the government.
- Public Response: The tragedy prompted societal reflection and discussions about the value placed on firefighters’ lives, leading to some reforms but indicating that much work remains to be done.
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Reflections
- The episode emphasizes the sacrifices made by first responders and the tragic outcomes that can arise from poor infrastructure and mental health neglect. It serves as a call to action for better support and acknowledgment of the risks faced by firefighters in South Korea and beyond.
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For further details, visit the [Rotten Mango website](https://rottenmangopodcast.com).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:02We are talking about a case that takes place in Seoul, South Korea. and we're gonna start with a man named Kwon Yongcheol. He was preparing to leave for work just like any other day. It's 9 in the morning but he doesn't work like your typical 9 to 5 job. He's not gonna be home tonight. In fact, it wouldn't be another like 26 hours till he got home. He worked 24-hour shifts. So he's spending a ton of time with his kid. He has a 3-year-old kid and a 100-day-old kid. He's just trying to get as much family time as possible because 24 hours without them, he's not going to be able to tuck them into bed.
0:39He's not going to be able to eat dinner with them tonight. And lastly, he looks at his wife and he knows it's like at the tip of her tongue. She just wants to say it. She wants to blurt it out, but she knows she can't. Every single day that he leaves her work, she wants to say, Be careful, honey. Please be careful. Be safe. But it's a superstition, much like the health care workers at hospitals. They never say, Oh, it's a slow night. It's a calm night. She never says be careful because it's the assumption that he's in some danger. So instead, she kisses him on the cheek and she prepares for 24 hours of pure anxiety.
1:16Her husband, Quan, was a firefighter for Seoul's West Fire Station. And that very night, six firemen from that exact station would be found dead. And it wasn't just a bad fire. It was an entire burning house of secrets. It was like the house of hell. And it took six of their lives. The firefighters would risk their lives that night looking for a man in the fire that maybe didn't even exist. They were sent into the burning house wearing rain jackets. And the more that this hell house burned, the more the secrets would leak out. And by the end of it, it basically ripped a nation apart. So let's talk about the case.
2:01As always, full show notes are available at rottenmangopodcast.com This was a very controversial and very famous case in South Korea We had our lovely Korean researchers help assist in gathering of the facts and the stories But as always, with any foreign cases where most of the source material is not in English Let me know if there is anything at all that wasn't covered or got lost in translation And with that being said, let's get into it The case takes place March 3rd, 2001 in Seoul and it's very early in the morning. So to help you visualize this a bit better, March 3rd is technically spring in South Korea, but really only by date.
2:39The early morning at like 1 to 2 a.m., there's snowfall, like pretty heavy snowfall. The city is asleep. Well, most of the city anyway. Most families are tucked away in their little beds, knocked out. Others are opting to stay indoors or at home because like even if you're a night owl, even if you want to go out and get drunk, This just was not the weather to be wandering around outside. The only part of the city that seemed ready for some action was the local fire department. Now, there is a lot of pertinent information that I need to tell you before we get into this case, just so you can understand truly the meat of this case.
3:14In South Korea, a firefighter is not just fighting fires. They're not. The fire department is split up into three categories. So you have the fire suppression team. They're in charge of putting out the fires. Then you have the rescue team. They're in charge of going into burning buildings and rescuing people. And then lastly, you have the emergency team. They are in charge of providing first aid and transporting these fire victims to the emergency room. So the fire departments, they not only drive the fire truck, but the fire ambulances, literally everything. They run the whole show. And it sounds like three neatly divided departments.
3:48And maybe it is now. But back then, basically, each firefighter was just responsible for doing all three if they needed to. On top of that, the fire department as a whole is tasked with random miscellaneous tasks like fire inspections of buildings, snow removal, making sure the drinking water supply isn't tainted. All of this, all these duties and these people are risking their lives for the incredible salary of$2 ,500 USD a month. Damn. Yeah, that's the average wage. Risking their life. Yeah. That's crazy. of a south korean firefighter to put it into perspective the average wage of an american firefighter is around four thousand five hundred dollars a month it's kind of shocking and well in bigger cities like new york city like the nyfd they give firefighters the opportunity to make upwards of 100k if they've been there for five years but not only that okay so most american firefighters i will say they at least have some benefits i'm not saying that they have great compensation.
4:49I think it could be a lot better. But a lot of fire departments provide health care for the firefighter and their nuclear family for the rest of their lives. They provide a 401k and a generous pension in case something were to happen. So they try to make it as appealing of a job as possible because, you know, well, these are people risking their lives and literally walking into hell, walking into fires to save people. It's like against human nature to see a raging fire and be like, let's walk straight into that to see if I can save someone else. And in 2001, when this case takes place, because of how abysmal the working conditions and pay were for firefighters in Korea, they were underfunded and they were understaffed.
5:28Firefighters at this point in time were working 24 hour shifts, 9 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning, and they would do this 84 hours a week. They would have a 24 hour shift. They would rest. And then the next day, 9 a.m., they would have a 24 hour shift. Every other day was a 24 hour shift. Wow. Yeah. And during the 24 hours, they're usually not just sitting around at the fire station getting some sleep in. Because of how understaffed the fire department is, most firefighters are responding to about seven calls each shift. Each fire and rescue call typically lasts about three hours. That's like 21 hours of active duty out of the 24-hour shift.
6:10Now, back to the day in question. The firefighters receive a call at around 3 a.m. Now, the caller claims that they saw smoke rising from a building nearby and it was urgent and the firefighters need to arrive quickly before it gets worse. So they're rushing. They get in their fire trucks. They get the ambulances. They get the rescue vehicles. Yeah, they're literally in charge of all of that. They turn on their sirens and they start rushing to the scene of the fire. They've got the adrenaline pumping in their veins. So early mornings are the hardest times for firefighters, not just due to the lack of sleep and rest.
6:43But the fact that fires around 3am are usually called once they've already been too big, like once they're already at the point of being uncontrollable. Now, most people are sleeping at this time. When the fire starts, when it's small, no one really recognizes it. The fire has to be big enough where someone wakes up or someone sees it in the dark. In comparison, fires that happen during the day, there's almost always people nearby to spot it early on. So they're all on edge, They're rushing as fast as humanly possible to the scene. And when they get there, they're standing in front of the building with sweat dripping down their forehead.
7:21Anxiety pulsing through them and nothing. There's no fire. It's a false alarm. There was no fire. But just to be sure, they did a double check around the block. They checked all the surrounding buildings. They checked the air just in case maybe there's like a leak of some sort of gas leak. and they decided, nope, this is positively a false alarm. Now, none of them were upset about the false alarm. It happens. It doesn't happen too often, but it does happen. It's never a prank call or anything like that. It's typically a civilian being hypervigilant and the firefighters would rather hypervigilant civilians looking for things rather than a bunch of people that don't look out for each other.
7:59So they pack up their truck. They start driving back to the station. And at 3.47 a.m., they're about two minutes away from their station. they hadn't made it back yet okay another incoming call the caller states hurry you have to come quick there is a two-story house that's engulfed in flames is it the same address no so they u-turn turn on their sirens and start rushing to the new new call as fast as possible now a lot of the firefighters in the truck remember this feeling of not relief but thankfulness like a like a feeling of gratitude they almost thought thank god we didn't make it back to the station and gotten out of our trucks.
8:37I mean, yeah, we're trained to get into the trucks as fast as possible, but still, that's like still a minute to assemble everyone, get back into the truck to pull out of the fire station. I mean, at least this way, we're still on the road. We still have all of our gear. We could save a few minutes. And a few minutes when it comes to fires, you could save a few lives. So for us regular people, two minutes feels like nothing. To firefighters, it can mean saving a life or it can mean death. I think even with this information of how these firefighters felt about this call, you can see where their hearts are at.
9:11So side note, they would head straight to the side of the fire, but another fire team was also dispatched from a different station. So they're all driving as fast as they can, gearing up for this. So there's two separate trucks going there. And I think the feeling, at least for the main truck that we're following is, you know, what are the odds that it's two false alarms this one's probably real so let's get ready the first one was a false alarm what are the odds this one feels even more real they're racing their adrenaline is pumping and all of a sudden the fire truck screeches to a stop the driver slams on the fire truck's brakes and everyone is looking up confused like are we here i don't see a fire and for a split second, they just soak in, what the hell is going on?
9:54And it's freaking bad. This is the only entrance to the residential road to get to the two-story house that's allegedly engulfed in flames. All of the roads are made so fire trucks can safely pass. There are no parking signs all over this residential road. Yet, both sides of the street are lined with illegally parked civilian cars. To be even more specific, the residential road was said to have been about 20 feet in width, which is why you're not allowed to park on either side of the road. But there were cars parked on both sides, parallel parked on both sides of this residential street. So both sides are not allowed parking and there's cars on both sides lined up lined up so i'm just going to give you some mathematical perspective because i think it helps visualize the street itself is about 20 feet wide the average non-commercial vehicle is about six and a half feet wide and with both sides of the road filled with these parked cars that means there's about 13 feet of road taken up and that's that's if if the civilian cars are parked literally right on the street curb on both sides which i highly doubt.
11:07Now you only have seven feet of space in the middle of the road left. A fire truck on average is 10 feet wide. Wow. The fire truck is not getting through. In fact, I would imagine that a regular sedan would not make it through. That is crazy. And this is completely immature and a very naive part of me while I was researching and I was so frustrated. I'm like, why can't the government just back them up and they just ran through the cars, but I'm an idiot. That would probably be in and of itself a fire hazard and lawsuit galore. But it's just that feeling of like, okay, come on now. Are you serious?
11:45Like there is an emergency. They should be able to do something about it. And if you're like, well, don't be obnoxious, Stephanie. You don't have to ram through them. Just push them out the way. I think if it had just been one illegally parked car or two, the firefighters could have gotten out and pushed the car out of the way. But with that many cars, I'm talking, it was back-to-back cars parallel parked. Just there was nowhere to even push them to. They would waste so much valuable time moving these cars. To try and find the owners of these cars, they don't know which apartment building they belong to.
12:17They don't know how to wake all these people up. Do they go door to door? I mean, it's crazy. That would waste valuable time. So I digress. The fire truck was unable to make it through the only road to the house that was on fire. And they're still at least like 500 feet away. Without their fire truck, the fire is going to be even more difficult to extinguish. There's no other entrance? No. So what do they do? The firefighters do not waste any time. They take half a second to register what's going on, and then it's all hands on deck. They open the doors, they grab their gear, about 35 pounds of gear per person, and they start booking it.
12:59They start running. they needed to bring with them their massive oxygen tanks their masks cutting tools like pipe cutters ropes fire hoses sledgehammers they start organizing and barking orders a few were tasked with finding the local fire hydrants on the street avoid curved alleyways because that's that messes with the water pressure and start connecting the long impossibly heavy hoses to them and run them to this two-story house start running with these massive hoses was so bad that they could see it from a distance. So they knew it wasn't a false alarm. That house is on fire. They would need all the help that they could get, but they couldn't even bring their trucks up to the house.
13:43I don't know how, but very quickly, they're able to attach 12 fire hoses to the fire hydrants, bring it to the house, and the fire was as bad as it gets. It was a 30-year-old house, two floors, and the flames coming out of this house were angry, bright red flames jumping out of the windows already. The house looked like it was the sun. The whole city was dark and asleep and this house was burning bright. Which firefighters actually consider this stage as the peak danger level of a fire. If you arrive at a house and you see that the blaze is already coming out of the windows, it typically means everything inside has already been burnt to a crisp.
14:26And the fire is just like hungry for more things to consume and to eat. I mean, if it's like one window, it's different. But I'm talking like every window. There's just flames coming out. It's completely scorched the inside. And it's just trying to get something new. The toxic fumes in the air inside the house would probably be at its max. It would be nearly impossible to breathe inside of there. Much less withstand the heat and the fire. And the chance of rescue and survival in these conditions would be so incredibly low. So incredibly dangerous. And this, this is where everything starts going wrong.
15:04A group of civilians had already gathered outside. This two-story home was basically a converted duplex. So the landlady, she is a 66-year-old ajumma who lives on the first floor with her 32-year-old son. On the second floor, she rented it out to a family of tenants. Now, they made it out safely. Neighbors had also come out to see what was going on. and a woman pushes through the crowd. She's the 66-year-old homeowner and she looks like she's about to have a complete and utter mental breakdown. She's latching onto the firefighters, grabbing onto them, scream crying at them, pleading with them.
15:38She's screaming, my son, my son is still in the house. Please, you have to go save him. My son is in there.
15:46The firefighters look at each other. It wasn't even a question. They were going in. so they turn they face the house on fire and they run into it without a second thought they knew the rate of survival inside that house i mean her son was probably dead it's like slim to none but they had to try so once the firefighters are inside the house they can't see anything everything was like a thick cloud of ash and smoke and they have a fire suppression team with them. They have the fire rescue team with them. So they're basically moving as a unit. They would have a couple of the firemen hosing down so that none of them are getting burned.
16:28And then they would go and look for the sun, look for any signs of life. Everything was like a thick cloud of ash and smoke. And they had these headlamps, but it did nothing. It wasn't just dark. There was like a literal cloud of toxic fumes that had taken over the entirety of the house. The visibility was said to be about two feet away from their face. all they could do was try and they search as best as they can and they find nothing i think that they would have honestly kept trying to look but they knew what was going on they looked around them they saw the condition of the house this house was going to collapse so you're like wait what this is a fire why is the house collapsing as if it's an earthquake this is a 30 year old house and the way that it was structured there was fire everywhere they had to put water into the house to take down the fire, right?
17:19Water is heavy. Most houses cannot withstand absorbing that much water, especially a house that's 30 years old. The house is due to collapse and these are firemen. They know. So they reluctantly leave and they walk out and they're like, okay, maybe the sun is somewhere else because even though we didn't have all the time in the world, we diligently checked every single room and we didn't see any signs of life. So they walk out and the mom is screaming at them. Why are you coming out alone? What are you doing? You're supposed to be in there getting my son. My son is in there. I'm telling you. How can you not save him?
17:53How can you leave him to burn? And these firemen, they're looking at each other like, this house is about to go down. They're trying to explain to her, your house right there, it's gonna fall any second now. She's like begging them, holding on to them, latching on to them. One of the firefighters later stated, yeah, it's difficult work. We had undeniable information, information that a family member is telling me with 100 % certainty that another person is inside of there. I have to go. I have to search two, three, four more times until I find that person. So they go back in. They search even more thoroughly this time.
18:42They comb through every single room, every single bathroom, checking the floors, the corners. Maybe the son was hiding to protect himself from the smoke and the flames. One of the firefighters, the one from the beginning of the story, Kwon, he said that he was going to go outside and check if the building had an underground boiler room. This would help maybe control the fire, but also maybe the son had managed to get there from inside the house. So he went out of the house and steps down into kind of like this underground basement step. And at 4.11 a.m., just moments after he stepped down, there was a boom, followed by a series of gut-wrenching noises.
19:22Firefighter Quan was knocked out very briefly, unconscious. He wakes up, he's dazed, and he gets up from like that two basement step. he saw this guy he saw the houses nearby he saw everything the two story house that had been the center of the whole neighborhood on fire two whole stories of bright red was now at the height of his hip it had been completely flattened it had collapsed on itself he's outside yeah it was basically pancaked wow and everything is the fire still going on though? so most of the fire had been extinguished but the problem is the toxic fumes are still in there and everything and everyone inside were now trapped in rubble like just a giant pile of concrete who's in there?
20:2110 firefighters the sun so like 11 people
20:29the saddest part of all of this is that the firefighters again knew that this house was probably going to collapse but they still had to search for the sun they knew that this was an older building it most likely would never withstand all the water that it was absorbing but still firefighter kwan said that he cannot explain the utter horror that he felt when he saw that building at his hip height hip level and all of his fellow firefighters his friends they were under there he suffered a massive injury to his shoulder because he was like next to the house when it pancaked so of course there's going to be debris there's going to be things that hit him he was knocked unconscious briefly but he goes straight to work he tears the injury in his shoulder even more but he doesn't care he screams out into the middle of the night where are you?
21:14are you in there? where are you? the remaining firefighters that had not gone inside the house they immediately called for backup up to the local fire stations. It was 4 11 a.m. and soon 250 firefighters from all over the country from at least 11 different fire stations would leave their hoses. They would leave their fire gear on the side. They would grab their shovels and hammers and they would use their bare hands breaking off almost all their fingernails, cutting up their palms, using any and all brute strength they had left after a 20-hour shift to try and save their fellow firefighters. Why can they use their gears?
22:08Because any machinery to dig into concrete was too big to get past the illegally parked cars. none of the fire trucks made it past i think they were able to get one smaller work truck past but it was just not effective in the situation they were facing most of the firefighters didn't directly know the firefighters trapped inside at least not personally but they knew what they had all sacrificed for this job they knew what their families had endured all the countless sleepless nights worrying about these firemen they knew the struggles that they had been through and just that will to make it out alive, not even for yourself, but for the sake of your loved ones.
22:51And in the pitch black night with the snow falling on them, they dog and they dog and they dog. And just to emphasize the state of disaster right now, this building, it is a 30 year old house and there is a lot of wood involved, but it's not some shack or wooden cabin that kind of folded in on itself. The building is filled with concrete, metal, other heavy materials. It was two stories tall. Even just the weight of furniture alone would have been something that could be fatal. And that's not considering the actual composition of the house. Even just the chances of having a metal pole, pipe, or anything sharp impale you.
23:28Or the chance that you're crushed by the sheer weight of something. I mean, there's also electrical wires that are probably exposed now and running water. Nothing is off the table of what's going on to those that are trapped underneath this house. Not to mention, this is right after a fire that was at its peak. Whatever small pockets of air that are under the rubble is beyond toxic. The firefighters did have their oxygen tanks, but they run out after 25 minutes. Here is the bigger problem. They run out after 25 minutes, but if a firefighter had been knocked unconscious by the collapse, which is highly likely, then the mask could actually become a weapon of death after 25 minutes.
24:08if they still have it on they're suffocating it will become equally toxic and dangerous since you will be breathing in your own carbon dioxide 250 firefighters from all over the area were gathering to help with the rescue and at 4.30 they're able to get a single truck in through the roads but the firefighters don't care they keep digging there were 10 firefighters trapped in the rubble along with the homeowner's son and they all had the same thought. I have to get my colleagues out, even if I do it with my bare hands. Like I said, there were machines that existed that could get the firefighters probably out quicker, that could help move the rubble faster, that could help break the concrete, but these machines would be too big to make it down the road because again, the illegally parked cars and every second counted.
24:58So they just kept going. I can't even imagine the trauma for the firefighters, both under the rubble, but also on top trying so desperately to save the others. I mean, I think the feeling is you want to rescue those who have given their lives into rescuing others. So for 50 minutes, the firefighters dig and dig and dig. And suddenly a firefighter starts screaming and they could see through the crack Kim Chol-hong's face, a fireman. He didn't appear conscious. And so they start frantically moving as much as the rubble as possible. And they finally pull him out. They slip off his mask and it feels like eternity.
25:34And they're waiting in silence. And in that cold air, they see a little bit of that. Like, you know, when it's cold and you're breathing, you can see a little bit, a little bit. He's breathing a little bit. So they rush him to the hospital and this gives the firefighters the strength they need to continue. They had no idea if he was going to wake up in the hospital, but he was breathing even a little bit. Out of the 10, there were a few firefighters that made it out earlier because they were near the edges of the house when it collapsed. So they were not really buried fully under the house. If they were, they were like half buried or maybe only half their bodies were buried, if that makes sense.
26:14But there were six more firefighters. Nobody knew where in the house they were when the house collapsed. so Kwan the firefighter from the boiler room he feels this renewed sense of hope and he just starts breaking more concrete with his sledgehammer they dug in locations that would yield the highest chance of survival so near the basement the plan was to drill down a giant hole by hand they were just going at it in the concrete in a circle trying to drill a hole into the concrete so that was just big enough for one person without their oxygen tank one person would go down and try and find the others at around 5 47 a.m Lee Sung-chon uh we'll call him Lee he arrived at the scene he was in charge of the rescue team he said it was heartbreaking he said they went in there and everyone was silently working because nobody was speaking unless it was to periodically call out to ask if their friends or colleagues were there.
Read the full transcript
27:14Can you hear me? Are you there? We're coming to get you. Don't worry. Nobody wanted to waste a single second on anything that was not removing the rubble. Every single second that passed was the second that their colleagues were closer to death. And he said he looked around once and he just saw the snow falling so heavily, but nobody even registered it. They were all drenched in sweat. They all had like hot tears rolling down their faces. And all he could think constantly as he's digging was, I wish I had something faster. This needs to be faster. After two hours since the collapse, the hole had been made.
27:56A small hole to the basement had been dug. They pushed down some oxygen tanks that were open to try and push the toxic air out of the tight spaces, right? and pump in fresh oxygen to the buried firefighters who they're praying to the gods that they were still breathing, were still alive because two hours, like three hours had passed, really. Firefighter Quan, the one who injured his shoulder during the initial collapse, these were the people on his fire truck. These were his teammates. He went down the hole. No. Without his oxygen tank. He was risking his own life once again to save his colleagues.
28:30He didn't even think twice. it had been hours but they had hope because these are their firemen you know they're strong they're invincible he goes down and he starts looking for his friends the toxic air made it so hard for him to breathe and the inability to breathe made his heart pump even more you know on top of the adrenaline and he just felt this dying sense of urgency the hole was so small he was crawling around on his stomach just reaching around with his hands because he couldn't see much and he just remembered thinking, please anyone, someone, please. And he kept sweeping his hand until he felt something.
29:08At 7.34 a.m., he touches the arm of firefighter Lee Seung-gi. He would be the second firefighter saved. Wait, there's still A-mo in there? Yeah. When they pulled him up, they realized that he had taken off his own mask, meaning he must not have been unconscious for that long. This gave everyone hope. And like I said, they were moving as a unit when they were going through the house, right? So they rush him up, rush him to the hospital. Firefighter Kwan stays under, looking for the rest of his colleagues. And from there, one by one, the firefighters found their friends. They were all unconscious.
29:45This was right before 8 a.m. So after three hours and 46 minutes since the buildings collapsed, all the firefighters were found and rushed to the hospital. Firefighter Kwan, like I said, these are his direct colleagues, the ones that he sees every day, the ones that he trusts to have his back. These are his partners in this very scary business. And he said that he just wanted to run. He wanted to run to meet the ambulances at the hospital just to make sure they were okay. But he couldn't because their work was not done. The firefighters had pulled out their colleagues, but there was still someone missing, the missing son.
30:24He was still in there. And with just as much passion and just as much urgency, they dug and dug for the homeowner's son. And the reason that they had gone into that house in the first place was for this son. So they continued to dig and dig and their radios would go off and news would be shared. Their sledgehammers would slam against the concrete. An alert would come in. Firefighter Park Jun-oo, 32 years old. He had been a fireman for eight years. It wasn't really in his life plan. He actually wanted to go to college and pursue a different career, but his parents' business failed and he just needed to make money.
31:03So he sacrificed everything to become a fireman, make money, and he would be starting his own family next week. He actually had a wedding planned next week. And he was going to marry the love of his life. And the last note he ever left for his soon-to-be wife was, I will always take care of you. Firefighter Park Jun-woo was pronounced dead at the hospital. The firemen cried and tears dropped into the rubble, but they kept going. They had to find the sun. Their sledgehammers would slam against the concrete and an alert would come in. Firefighter Kim Chol-hong, 38 years old. He personally volunteered to go from a desk job in the fire department to working in the field to fighting fires His mom had suffered a stroke recently and they had just all these piling medical bills So he put his life on the line literally in the line of fire and he would bring in three hundred dollars more a month And they really needed that money Firefighter Kim Chud Hong was pronounced dead at the hospital tears dropped into the rubble but the firefighters kept going their sledgehammers would slam against the concrete and an alert would come in firefighter tongues hook tun 36 years old he was known for being very goofy like he was always very smiley and goofy and he was the father of two children he was one of the most selfless people on the team they said he had been involved in over 4 ,500 rescues.
32:43He was a former special forces officer. He was a veteran. I mean, his whole life, he basically served the country and his wife would constantly scold him every day before work. She would say, honey, can you please not be the first one to help all the time? Just stay back a little. You're getting older. And he would always smile a goofy little grin because he hated lying to his wife and they both knew when the time came, he'd be the first one to run in. Firefighter Jang Seok-chan was pronounced dead at the hospital. And tears would drop into the rubble, but the firefighters kept going. Their sledgehammers would slam against the concrete, and an alert would come in.
33:26Fire Sergeant Park Dong-kyu, 46 years old, father of two. He's been doing this for 18 years, and he was so good at his job. He actually even inspired his little brother to get into firefighting, and he just had this way of motivating people around him. And to him, it just wasn't a job. It was, he was making an impact in the world. Fire Sergeant Park Dong-kyu was pronounced dead at the hospital. Tears would drop into the rubble, but the firefighters kept going. Their sledgehammers would slam against the concrete and an alert would come in. Firefighter Park Sang-ok, 34 years old, father of a three-year-old daughter.
34:11He was a really big family guy. He was so excited. He was telling everyone at the fire station how he finally saved up enough money to move his entire family into a bigger house that spring. He was excited to give his elderly parents a bit more space so they could feel more rested and feel more settled. And his colleagues always poked fun at him because no matter how busy he got, no matter how tired he was, he always called his wife two to three times a day. And everyone teased him for being so obsessed with his wife, but they all secretly respected him. They all know what it's like to have a loved one that's nervously waiting at home.
34:46Firefighter Park Sang-ok was pronounced dead at the hospital. And tears would fall into the rubble, but the firefighters kept going. Their sledgehammers would slam against the concrete, an alert would come in firefighter kim gi-seok 44 years old father of two his love for firefighting was out of this world he just had he was a former marine before this and um when he wasn't working or spending time with family he was so poetic he literally he wrote poetry he just earned his master's degree and if anyone had any questions about life or the purpose of life or the purpose of their jobs. They wanted to talk to him.
35:31Just a month before this incident, he actually wrote an email to a junior colleague to help him understand why he was so passionate about firefighting. And he wrote, while the role of a doctor definitely saves lives, it is not one where it requires that they must throw their own bodies in someone's place to save them. I'm very pleased with this job because it allows me to sacrifice my life in order to save someone else's. I think to throw my own life willingly away for someone, I consider that a very sacred thing. I've been buried under a collapsed building before. I've stood upon the tongue of an angry fire.
36:14I know only heaven knows the meaning of all of this, but I think if I give my very best at this task, I live my life to the best I can every single day maybe I enter the afterlife with a good destiny in a good body firefighter King Gi-suk was pronounced dead at the hospital and tears would drop into the rubble but the firefighters had to keep going they had one more person to find six of their own were gone maybe the only thing on their mind the only thing that could keep them from breaking apart some of them said was the firefighter's prayer. Goes like this. When I am called to duty, God, wherever flames may rage, give me strength to save a life, whatever be its age.
37:03Help me to embrace a little child before it's too late or save an older person from the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert to hear the weakest shout and quickly and efficiently to put the fire out. I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me to guard my neighbor and protect his property. and if according to your will I have to lose my life bless with your protecting hand my loving family from strife but what if it was all for nothing there is a very famous Korean proverb that goes 무심코 던진 돌에 개구리는 죽는다 and it translates roughly into a rock thrown carelessly by one person can bring death to an innocent frog it sounds a bit interesting in english and it doesn't really have the same impact in korean but it's most often used by koreans to teach children or to teach each other as a lesson of how you know you're very careless or not so well thought out words or actions they can kill someone you may not necessarily think twice of it but the impact could be great a lot of people compare that to these civilians who illegally parked their cars thinking, it's nighttime, no one's going to drive through these roads, and I'm going to move it early in the morning when I go to work.
38:21This case is a direct representation of that in the worst way possible, and it's not just with the illegally parked cars.
38:31At 9.28 a.m., while the firemen continued to dig and dig amidst all of this heartache, the fire investigative team arrived at the scene. So these are the teams that are in charge of investigating the source of the fires to make sure that buildings are up to code, make sure that no one was at fault for this. They arrive and they start asking the homeowner about possible ways that the fire may have started. And they also comfort her and they try to tell her, you know, the emergency crew, aka the firefighters, they're doing the best and they're going to keep searching for your son in the rubble. now at this point the 66 year old mother was joined by a few other relatives that came out as like a show of support and one of them in just one of the the most casual nonchalant unserious voice states oh they said he's at his uncle's house you're kidding me he's been there since 6 a.m.
39:29One of the investigative team members fell to the ground sobbing. All those firefighters had gone in to find this one person. They sacrificed everything to save him and he wasn't even there. The firefighters who were still digging, sobbing, digging, wiping their eyes from the stinging sweat in tears. They were digging for the owner's son and they were told to stop. The son is not in there. Family just gave confirmation. All residents had been evacuated. We can stop digging. They said it was like the whole world stopped. Every single firefighter was silent and they could not even comprehend what they had just heard.
40:22No one could process what this meant. Everyone just stared with glazed-over looks in their eyes, unable to even process the true depth of what any of this meant. Firefighter Kwon, the one with the injured shoulder, he said in that moment, 진짜 어이가 없는 거죠. 한마디로. Koreans have this wave. It's almost like a laugh, a smile, because it's the utter and total lack of reasoning. It's just utter and total disbelief. You almost can't believe that someone like this exists or a situation like this can actually happen. It's almost impossible to accept or understand. If nobody was in that house, nobody would have gone in.
41:10They would have put out the fire from the outside. Nobody would have had a building collapse in on them. Six firefighters died looking for someone that wasn't even there. They died trying to save someone that wasn't even in danger. They ran head on into a burning fire for someone that wasn't even there. Not only that, they would soon find out the person they sacrificed their lives for was the one who started the fire. Troy is the 32-year-old son of the homeowner. He lived on the first floor with his mom, and Choi was known to struggle with mental illness. Neighbors reported constantly hearing the mom and son fight.
41:51The mom did her best to get him help, but he just, he hated her for it. He hated that she sent him to a psychiatric ward for years of his life. He constantly screamed at her that she was treating him like he was some sort of crazy person. He refused to control his anger. frequently he would go out get drunk come home yell and beat his own mother 66 year old mother and the night of the fire was no different they get into this explosive fight and he beat his mom she was so terrified of her own son that she ran up to the second floor and she asked her tenants can i stay with you while he cools down downstairs he's like way too heated everyone in the neighborhood knew that they had a strained relationship that's how bad it was everyone could hear their fights so while the mom was upstairs Troy he's pissed off so what does he do?
42:40he lights a blanket on fire and throws it onto the bed he will later claim that he wanted to start a small fire and he believed it would just end up quote fizzle out by itself let's be real many of us are struggling with mental health issues I don't know his exact mental state or his diagnosis but still a 32 year old man that is perfectly capable of living on his own and is able-bodied, there are no indications that he has any intellectual disabilities, how can you truly even say with your full chest that lighting a blanket on fire and throwing it onto a bed filled with more fabric and a mattress made with foam and flammable materials that you thought the small fire would fizzle out?
43:22You only do that when you want to burn a big chunk of the house down. You want a big fire. And to add to my refusal to believe that statement, he goes on to say and then the fire got so big so i ran out because i was scared he made no attempts to put it out he just ran away when he saw the fire was big yeah he made no attempts didn't even call the mom nobody not even the no no tenants he made no attempts to put it out he made no attempts to alert anyone inside the residence he made no no attempts to alert any sort of fire department he could literally just killed everyone yeah in the building i mean a lot of people think that was his intention.
44:05He set a fire believing it would fizzle out and when it got big he got scared and ran away and never said anything. To me that sounds like he genuinely wanted to take people's lives but not himself. Of course not. He needed to save himself. It's fair to say that the mom most likely did not know that her son wasn't at home. She most likely didn't know that he was the one that's at the fire her relatives came to join her after they were alerted that her house had burned down and you're telling me some random relative knew that her son was at the uncle's house and never told her that they just didn't talk about it she just found out when they the fire investigators asked wouldn't the mom be frantic wouldn't she be pacing the room oh my god they still haven't found my son oh my god they still haven't found my son i'm so stressed my son is trapped under there and the relative would tell her what are you talking about your son is at the uncle's house.
44:57You're telling me these conversations never took place? That's insane. I just think the odds of that are insane. I think that maybe she believed that they would figure out how to deal with this situation later because it had become so big it was there was no going back maybe in her head. Maybe she thought she could get away with hiding her son and just go on the run have him go on the run go into hiding at another relative's house. I just think the odds that she had no idea that this son was at the uncle's house, that's not even normal human behavior to me. That's true. I mean, this is the mom that was so concerned that she yelled and begged the firemen to go back in, but as they're looking for him, her relatives come to comfort her and no one mentions her son?
45:41It's hard to believe that she didn't know at some point before the fire investigators asked, she did not know that her son was alive and well. I believe she knew, I just don't know when. But I think it's just really heartless like these firemen they were still digging i mean the weight of the world was on their shoulders the weight of the trauma of losing six of their own not only that but these men were injured they were heavily injured and they were injuring themselves further in the process by digging frantically every second could have made a difference to say something and she did it regardless 32 year old Choi is a full-grown adult he is a 32 year old man his fire did not only damage his home and property but it took lives March 5th 2001 a joint funeral was held for all six firefighters fire station staff city staff citizens over 30 ,000 civilians paid their respects at the firefighters memorial.
46:44And do you remember firefighter Park Dong-kyu? He inspired his little brother to be a firefighter. And at the funeral, his brother said a few words for him. And he said,
47:03Their bodies were laid to rest at the Daejeon National Cemetery. It is a cemetery reserved for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for others and for the nation. The same day, Choi was arrested for arson and causing bodily harm and building damage, but not for the loss of lives, not for murder. He was arrested, but he was given an anger-inducing sentence. The court stated that since he had been hospitalized three times in the past for mental illness, he would get a reduced sentence of just five years in prison. He would have been released in 2006. We don't have any updates because Korea has some pretty strict privacy laws.
47:44We don't have any much updates of his current situation or status, and we have no idea what he's doing out there. Out of all the firefighters that were pulled from that collapsed building, that were fully in the building, not the ones that were half buried, not saying that their trauma was not comparable, but only one survived, Lee Seung-gi. he sustained brain damage in addition to lower body paralysis he was left bedridden for a very long time and he has no memory of that day, he said he lost that memory he said he met with the families of his lost colleagues and he just feels so much burden and guilt he feels like he's responsible his survivor guilt is really bad and he said that if he were ever lucky enough to go to heaven and to see his former colleagues, he would ask them 잘 지냈냐?
48:36you been well? and he said he just lives for the moment to see them again when he was asked what would he do if the same situation were to arise and he said well I have to go in why? you knew the building was going to collapse yeah because I'm a firefighter firefighters are already risking their own lives to save people that they don't even know and we as a whole do not value their lives and if you're like don't clap me into it i'm i'm right there with everyone else like we should value their lives what the heck okay maybe civilians do but does the government so this case exposed a lot of things that were wrong first the illegally parked cars why were police not enforcing these parking laws there is a reason that these laws exist and what is the point of the law if you don't enforce it then it's just a nice request not only did this cause more time for the firefighters to get to the fire had they gotten there sooner maybe they could have been out by the time the building collapsed.
49:34Or when the firefighters were trapped under the rubble, they were unable to get machinery to help dig them out. That could have saved firefighter lives. But because the illegally parked cars, neither of those things were able to come true. Instead, firefighters spent hours digging their colleagues out with their own bare hands. But that's not even the end. I wish it was the end. I wish the problem was Troy and some illegally parked cars. But the problem is so deep. Netizens started looking into fire departments in South Korea after this incident. And they just wanted to know, first of all, how much are these people getting paid to do the jobs that nobody wants to do?
50:10And they were getting paid next to nothing. On top of that, fire departments in Korea were so severely underfunded. Police departments, emergency departments, these are like the counterparts of fire departments. They were receiving much more funding than the fire department. Police departments also received adequate medical care. They had paid time off. They had recovery time off. They had therapy physically and mental therapy. They were always fully equipped with gear on the job. They also were not severely understaffed. Firefighters, on the other hand, they had no medical benefits. You're going to die.
50:46Yeah. What? They had no therapy, no physical treatment, no medical benefits. In Korea, there are hospitals that are dedicated for police officers, for soldiers. Like we have veterans hospitals here in the US. There are no hospitals. Well, there were no hospitals for firefighters. They were understaffed, overloaded with work. And in 2001, just to give you a little bit of a comparison, the whole country of America, because I know that there's some bigger cities and some smaller towns, but on average, America had about one firefighter for every 280 residents. Korea's firefighter ratio was one firefighter for every 2 ,000 people.
51:27They could not afford to not work, not just to pay their own bills, but they worked 24-hour shifts, nearly 90 hours a week, and they received no support. Just to share with you how bad it was. Remember Firefighter Kwon? A picture went crazy in South Korea because the collapsing of the house injured his shoulder. And for hours, he used that injured shoulder to dig his colleagues out these are his colleagues these are his partners he just lost six of them he climbed into a hole inhaled toxic fumes for god knows how long to try and save these people and none of them really survived he was responding to another emergency call as a firefighter less than 24 hours later the very next day because he had to work yeah they were so understaffed and the way that they would tell him isn't even just oh then you're not you're gonna get fired it was well if you don't do it no one's gonna do it and i guess people will just burn to death what what what is it what is he gonna say to that these firemen were basically being guilt tripped into working non-stop because the fire department would say i'm sorry yeah this so this is all government's fault this is the issue here yeah you're not funding it enough yeah so the very next day he's at work and he had no physical time to heal no time to heal physically or mentally or emotionally it was just get back out there he said for six months all he did was drink non-stop to cope with his trauma he said at one point he was actually treated like a selfish person by his superiors to even want a day off to emotionally and mentally recover and let alone physically No one was there for him.
53:08The country failed him. But that's not all. If he were to seek help, he would have to pay out of pocket. So the way it was set up in 2001, if firefighters were injured on the job, they would have to pay for the medical treatment first and then apply for compensation later. But because of underfunding, there would be a big, big chance that they would not get compensated. But it wasn't just, hey, I'm so sorry, we're underfunded. They would make up the most bizarre excuses. They would say, oh, sorry, that type of injury is not covered for firefighters. Do you want to know what wasn't covered for firefighters?
53:37Skin grafts, burn treatments, skin transplants, the most common injury for fighting fires were not covered medically. Additionally, the firefighters were often getting burned because the equipment given to them was never up to international standards. They were faulty. They were so underfunded during the time that the suits that they wore during this particular fire was not even the appropriate gear. this is one of the most appalling pieces of information to me because you would think it's like the most basic common sense factor about what a firefighter would need to fight a fire a protective fire suit that repels fire and the repels the heat of the fire that's what you imagine right that's not what they were wearing they were wearing waterproof suits what is waterproof like raincoat basically waterproof suits it was revealed that the reason that they were given waterproof suits it's not because it's superior or because there was a reasoning for it fire suits are expensive they cost about 1 200 usd each the government did not think it was worth it so they resorted to giving the firefighters 80 waterproof suits instead the only way firefighters could afford their own gear was if they bought it themselves but they're getting paid like 2 500 a month they're living paycheck to paycheck i mean can you imagine this this whole suit thing is one of the most counterintuitive things I have ever heard.
55:02How is this not provided by the city or the nation? They worked so hard in the fire, swallowing their own fears to save someone else's. They're literally saving the country. They're doing the jobs that even politicians wouldn't even dream of doing for a single day. And yet they themselves are unprotected. They failed to give them even the most basic standard as a first responder, but also just the basic level of respect. They were pushed to the forefronts of danger and in the end, the people that they were serving to protect failed them. They were giving their all, killing a fire and trying to look for someone they can save when they themselves, all they had was a flimsy raincoat, basically.
55:45The water repellent suit doesn't even protect them against hot water. They could still get burned from hot water, let alone a fire. Let's say their jacket catches on fire. It's water repellent. That sounds like the worst case situation. Yeah. So did they just march into a burning fire for nothing? Well, I hope not. There were a lot of changes being made because of them and because of what happened and because of their story. A protest was held where tens of thousands of civilians and public officials came out. They marched on the streets of Seoul to call attention to the poor benefits and care that firefighters were given.
56:27A lot of people responded to the public's outrage. The government provided more funding. Firefighters went from working 24-hour shifts every other day to three shifts a week. It's still more than 40 hours. That's like, what, 70 hours a week? They were given orange fire suits that were fire repellent, and they're building a fire hospital for firefighters who need medical care. Another thing that has changed is because the fire department was so underfunded, at 5 p.m. every day, the fire stations would turn off heating even in the middle of the winter why to save power bills none of the firefighters were even allowed to take showers at the station which left them sitting around with their nostrils filled with soot and ash and smoke every day that has since changed there's still a lot of work to be done as of 2011 an investigation uncovered that firefighters were still sharing oxygen tanks they did not have enough protective equipment to go around.
57:25Another investigation uncovered that the fire suits that the government provided hadn't even been tested. They hadn't even gone through quality control. They weren't even inspected. So who's to say that they even meet standards? And in 2017, a photo went viral of firefighters taking a break after extinguishing a fire. They're like laying on the ground out of breath. They're all piled on top of each other on the ground. Like cannot breathe, cannot do anything. they look it doesn't even like i get it putting out a fire is exhausting work but that condition if you look at the picture if you're watching the visuals the picture is yeah so we can only hope with more conversation their conditions get better firefighter pak junil his body was donated his mom and his fiancee because remember he was going to get married a week before this happened they just hoped that his death would be meaningful his mom said even if i live as long as i can i'll still want to see my son i'll never stop wanting to see my son but at such a young age he died but he died doing good things for others so i can say my son was great his mom made a monument in her front yard for her son and she said that she was just so afraid as she was aging, as she got older, that his memory would fade.
58:51So she hated the idea that her son would be forgotten in this world. And every day, that's kind of like her purpose in life. She gets up very early and she wipes down each and every crevice of that monument and it gives her purpose. And she says a little prayer that his death was not meaningless and that things are changing for the rest of the firefighters. She has the fireman's prayer engraved on there. And one of the leading rescue team officers that worked so hard to get his colleagues out, his name Lee Sung-chun, after the incident, he was left with this huge scar on his left shoulder. And he got a tattoo to cover it.
59:29And the tattoo reads, and this is a motto that most firemen go by, first in, last out.
59:40even after the nation failed him everyone failed him he still lives by this motto he's still at the front lines of every fire he carries a picture of one of his closest friends that passed in the incident in his wallet and he said look we're still fighting fires together
1:00:01so please stay safe and i will see you guys on wednesday for the main episode so
From the publisher
The house was on fire, and it was going to collapse. The firefighters stood in front of it doing everything they could to put out the angry flames. There was a 66-year-old lady screaming at them.
“Please my son is in there! You have to go back in and get my son!”
They knew the house was going to collapse any minute now - but the firefighters always sacrificed their own lives in an attempt to save another. 10 firefighters went in. The house would collapse killing 6 of them.
But the son was never found in the house - did he even exist? Where was he? Did his mom know he wasn’t in there? And who set the fire?
This is the house of horrors that changed South Korea forever.
Full Source Notes: rottenmangopodcast.com
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