IDRN stands with those in difficulty after the wildfires in Gangwon and Uljin.
On the first day, around ten IDRN members helped the people fighting the fire rather than working directly with those displaced by it.
The enormous Uljin fire had been put out and then flared up again from embers, and the hundreds — thousands — of firefighters, marines and county officials battling it were exhausted after eight days of work.
To help them through the hunger and the physical exhaustion, we handed over the relief supplies we had brought: several hundred pairs of socks, along with bread and drinks. We prepared meals for several hundred people and helped with the washing up.
The most memorable moment was a surprise recital by the violinist Kim Si-jun, offered as an encouragement. As the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee” and other classical pieces were played, tired faces eased, and the square where several hundred people had gathered filled with applause — everyone drawing strength for putting the fire out sooner.