Oh Yeong-hwan


Oh Yeong-hwan is a Korean firefighter, essayist and politician. He served his military duty in fire station and was hired as a firefighter in Seoul in 2010, working at the Gwangjin Fire Station, the 119 Special Rescue Team, the Seongbuk Fire Station, and the National 119 Rescue Headquarters. After retiring from the fire service in 2019, he was named the 5th Democratic Party Recruitment Personnel in 2020.

Early life and education

Born in Busan in 1988, he was the first of 1 son and 1 daughter under his father who was a lieutenant in the reserve army officer. His father's failure to do his personal business after being discharged before entering elementary school made his family in a difficult situation financially. In high school, he watched firefighters bravely run to the fire site and thought that it was a 'hero'. He joined the Korea Disaster Prevention Engineering Co., Ltd., a fire-fighting facility construction company, installing and repairing fire-fighting facilities such as induction lamps and detectors. While doing his military service, He worked for Haeundae Beach 119 Marine Rescue Team and Haeundae Fire Station, Busan Fire Headquarters. In December 2015, he wrote an essay called 'A Firefighter's Prayer' which tells the story of the painful experiences of his years of firefighter and hope for the better future.

Anecdotes with novelist Kim Hoon

Since high school, he has read Kim's works and loved his sentences and his love for fire. Kim, who first met Oh Yeong-hwan in a lecture in 2013, was pleased to meet Oh and asked for his contact details. At the address of Kim Hoon, he sent an appreciation letter and an essay, 'A Dream of an Auxiliary Firefighter' which tells the story of his childhood and military service as a firefighter. Kim later calls Oh Yeong-hwan and expresses appreciation that became the motif of the short story 'Hands', published in the winter edition of Munhakdongne.

Career

He is married to Kim Ja-in, a professional rock climber.

Electoral history