The story of a Jeonju Facilities Management Corporation employee who saved a father and his daughter from drowning at a beach in Jeju has come to light days after the rescue.
Lee Dong-gyu, 38, who works at the Jeonju Seunghwawon crematorium, was resting at Hamdeok Beach in Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, at about 9:30 a.m. on the 15th when he heard cries for help coming from offshore, the corporation said on the 23rd.
Looking out to sea, Lee spotted a middle-aged man and a young woman flailing in 1-meter waves about 100 meters from the shore.
Lee immediately asked people nearby to call 119, the emergency number, then grabbed the surfboard he had been riding minutes earlier and plunged into the water. When he reached them, the woman was managing to stay afloat using survival swimming techniques, but the man was gradually sinking.
Lee pulled the man, who was in more immediate danger, onto the board first, caught his breath and then brought the woman to safety as well. He reassured the pair, telling them, "You are safe now that we have the surfboard," then put both of them on the board and swam them back to the beach himself.
Lee and the two survivors were all exhausted by the time they reached the sand, where paramedics who had been dispatched took the pair and rushed them to a hospital. Both have since recovered after receiving treatment.
The father had been swimming with his daughter when the two were swept away by currents and waves, according to accounts of the incident. The rescue became known after the father posted a message of thanks on the corporation's website bulletin board for commendations. "My daughter and I were in a desperate situation from which we could not escape on our own, and we owe our lives to Mr. Lee's courageous action," he wrote. "I was too shaken at the time to properly express my gratitude, and I wanted to do so now."
The Jeonju Facilities Management Corporation plans to present Lee with a commendation for his actions. "The moment I heard the screams, I had no other thought than that I had to save them," Lee said. "I am just relieved that both of them are safe."
