It was belatedly learned that mountain rescue team members from the Goyang Fire Station in Gyeonggi rescued Singaporean tourists who visited Korea and were stranded after climbing Bukhansan Mountain. After returning home, they sent letters of appreciation to the rescuers.
According to the Northern Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters on the 9th, on Nov. 7 last year, four people including a Singaporean tourist, identified only as A, nearly got stranded after climbing Bukhansan Mountain. As hiking has recently become popular among foreign tourists, they went up the mountain in the afternoon without proper hiking attire or basic gear.
Not long after they started climbing, the sun set and the temperature dropped. Without lighting equipment, A and the group eventually lost their way and became stranded.
At that time, a mountain rescue team from Goyang Fire Station, which had been dispatched on another rescue call, found them near the Yaksuam rest area around 7 p.m. The team took warming measures and guided them safely down the mountain.
The incident became known when the Singaporean tourists, after returning home, sent letters of appreciation and gifts to the Goyang Fire Station.
They sent a handwritten letter to the fire station that said they were grateful for being "our light in a dangerous moment."
The letter included phrases handwritten in Korean such as "Thank you" and "You are our HERO."
Meanwhile, on Dec. 30 last year, a man in his 50s who was isolated on Gukmangbong in Pocheon was also rescued by a fire helicopter and later left a message of thanks on the Northern Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters website bulletin board.
The message read, "That day became the day I died and was born again. I want to tell the Northern Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters and the 119 crew members who saved my life that you are doing the most rewarding and precious work in the world."