The Firefighters (소방관)

🔥 Based on the deadly Hongje-dong fire in Seoul in 2001, “The Firefighters” is a searing portrayal of the first responders and a commemoration of their courage and the lives lost.


🎬 Main trailer (English subs):

For firefighters, each day they report to work could be their last. This sadly proved to be true for six out of the nine men deployed at dawn on a Sunday to extinguish the fire at a two-story multi-family housing unit in Hongje-dong in 2001. Infused with both action and emotions, “The Firefighters” is a touching account of those who fought against fierce flames, the split-second decisions that needed to be made, the ordeal the survivors experienced, and even the twisted mind of the arsonist who caused so much harm.

The film was completed in 2020, but the creators had to put out several fires in getting it released. First, they were hit by COVID. Then in 2022, Kwak Do-won, a main cast member, was involved in a DUI scandal. Treading cautiously for the upcoming release in December 2024, they have excluded the actor from all promotional activities. Despite these obstacles, the film remains true to what it set out to do. And that is well captured in the line that appears at the end of the film trailer posted above: “Thank you. We will remember.”