Firefighters tackling drought Firefighters fill water at a purification plant in Gangneung, 210 kilometers east of Seoul, on Aug. 31, 2025. A day earlier, President Lee Jae Myung declared the province affected by drought a state of national disaster. (Yonhap)
Firefighting robot This photo provided by Hyundai Motor Group on Sept. 26, 2024, shows a rendered image of its envisioned unmanned firefighting robot for underground parking lot fires. (Yonhap)
Firefighters’ bodybuilding contest Firefighters flex their muscles in a bodybuilding contest at the Gyeonggi provincial fire service headquarters in Uijeongbu, about 20 kilometers north of Seoul, on May 7, 2024. (Yonhap)
Firefighters’ rally Unionized firefighters carrying the portraits of firefighters who have died while putting out fires enter a rally in Seoul on Feb. 26, 2024, calling for the expansion of fire manpower. (Yonhap)
Great job by these ROK firefighters who undoubtedly gained some valuable forest fire experience to bring back with them to Korea:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks in front of Korean firefighters on their way back to Korea from Ottawa, Wednesday. Screenshot from X
anadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday tweeted a video clip of himself expressing gratitude to a Korean emergency firefighting team who helped his country deal with raging wildfires.
“This morning in Ottawa, I got to send off an incredible group of people. They came from Korea and spent the last few weeks battling wildfires in Quebec,” Trudeau said in the video message posted on social media. “On behalf of all Canadians ― I thanked them for their heroic work.”
The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT), comprised of 151 personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Korea Forest Service, the National Fire Agency and the medical sector, arrived in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec, on July 2. Two days later, they began a month-long mission fighting the natural disaster that prompted the Quebec provincial government to declare a state of emergency.
How to put out EV fire Firefighters demonstrate putting out a fire in an electric vehicle by using a special cover at an international firefighting safety fair in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Aug. 31, 2022. (Yonhap)
Coupang CEO at mortuary of late fireman Coupang Inc. CEO Kang Han-seung speaks to reporters at a hospital mortuary in Hanam, south of Seoul, where he came to pay tribute to the late fireman who died in line of duty during the blaze that burned down a warehouse run by the e-commerce giant, in Icheon, 80 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
Firefighters prepare for contest Firefighters pull out a water hose as they prepare for the 2020 Gangwon firefighting contest at a training session in Goseong County, 157 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on July 17, 2020, in this photo provided by the local fire department. (Yonhap)
Kim Jung-hun, a firefighter from the southwestern city of Jeongeup, flexes his muscles while holding an electric saw in a bodybuilding contest of the World Firefighters Games Chungju 2018 in the city some 150 kilometers southeast of Seoul on Sept. 11, 2018. The games, regarded as the Olympics of firefighters, will continue to Sept. 17, with some 6,000 people in the profession from more than 50 countries participating. (Yonhap)
This photo taken on May 8, 2017, shows a fire-fighting helicopter that made an emergency landing in Samcheok, 290 kilometers east of Seoul, on the day. A maintenance worker who was on board the helicopter fell unconscious and later died after being taken to a nearby hospital. (Yonhap)
