Try on firefighting gear and cheer on firefighters... 5,022 join Hope Bridge campaign

[Financial News] About 5,000 people visiting the ‘Bitseom Festival’ on Nodul Island in Seoul took part in a campaign supporting better treatment of firefighters and improved public awareness of them.
According to the Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association on the 14th, a total of 5,022 people took part in the firefighter-support booth it ran at the ‘2026 Seoul Light Hangang Bitseom Festival’ from the 2nd to the 11th.
The booth featured a photo zone where visitors could touch and try on firefighting gear used at actual fire scenes. Members of the public could sign an online petition via QR code. A souvenir prize draw for signatories and applications for regular donations were also offered.
The petition calls for institutional reforms and increased staffing to ensure firefighters’ physical and psychological safety, as well as adequate rest facilities and essential work equipment. It also calls for improved support for psychological care and injury treatment, and for the families of firefighters who die in the line of duty.
On the 10th, rapper Coogie, the association’s Hope Ambassador, made his first official appearance on the stage of the festival program ‘Bitseom Music–Donghaeng Light.’ Coogie introduced the booth and encouraged the audience to take part in the campaign. Immediately after the performance, dozens of audience members lined up outside the booth to sign the petition.
A university student who signed the petition said, “Getting up close and smelling the soot on the firefighting gear and the lingering smell of burning really brought home to me how hard firefighters work in the field. I signed right away with my friends to show our support for them.”
A firefighter who visited Nodul Island on a day off said after looking around the firefighting-gear photo zone, “Seeing so many people come to the booth and sign the petition made me feel that I was receiving tremendous support. Thanks to the public’s warm interest, I once again felt the reward of working in the field.”
Meanwhile, Hope Bridge is running the ‘I Am a Firefighter’ campaign to foster greater public respect for and awareness of firefighters working at disaster sites. More than 130,000 people have taken part so far, including actors Park Hae-il and Soo Ae, who donated their narration talents.
Shin Hoon, secretary-general of Hope Bridge, said the organization would draw on the support gathered from the public at the site to “continue providing firefighters with support that makes a practical difference.”
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