Choi Min's World of All Things The 'Financial Straw' Carried Instead of an Oxygen Tank: Firefighters Want to Come Home Alive

Choi Min's World of All Things - 10

On a firefighter's back was not an oxygen tank for life. It was a 'straw' symbolizing the grievance of being treated as a drain on national finances and the heavy burden of harsh reality.

In the sky flows the noble 〈Prayer of Firefighters〉 asking for "the power to save one life," but the sincere cry of firefighters working in the field is intensely practical and urgent.

"We are not a financial straw." "We do not want posthumous promotion for dying."

Each time a disaster occurs, the state awards medals to fallen firefighters, posthumously promotes them one rank, and expresses regret. Yet when it comes to budget support, personnel expansion, and strengthening of safety equipment to help them survive the flames and return to their families' arms, the state applies the yardstick of 'fiscal burden.'

How can firefighters whom the state does not protect fully protect the lives of the people? More urgent than the posthumous promotion received after death is a solid safety net from the state that allows them to return home safely each day. Firefighters are not a 'straw' that depletes finances, but a 'lifeline' that upholds the nation's very existence.