Baek Jong-won, Who Tried to Cook for Firefighters, Surprised by the Cost per Meal: "I Feel Sorry and Touched"

Serving Nutritious Meals to Firefighters Battling Flames
Alarms Keep Ringing During Meals, Prompting Rapid Dispatch

Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, visited a fire station to serve nutritious meals to firefighters and expressed his regret over the poor meal conditions. On the 30th of last month, in the tvN broadcast 'Baekpacker 2,' Baek Jong-won visited the Hwaseong Fire Station in Gyeonggi Province and served nutritious meals to the firefighters who wear 25kg of firefighting gear every time they respond to emergencies and fight fires.

On this day, Baek Jong-won was requested to prepare a "nutritious dish that tastes good even when cold." Firefighters wear 25kg of firefighting gear and sweat a lot during their activities. Once dispatched, there is no guarantee when they will return, and even during meals, if the dispatch alarm sounds, they must leave their food and respond immediately. Due to the nature of their job, they cannot eat comfortably or on time, so they needed food that tastes good anytime.
[Photo by tvN 'Baekpacker 2']

Hwaseong Fire Station is the busiest among the 241 fire stations in South Korea, ranking first nationwide in the number of fire dispatches. On the 24th of last month, firefighters from Hwaseong Fire Station rushed to the scene of a fire at the Arisell factory, a primary battery manufacturer in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, which resulted in 30 casualties. On that day, Baek Jong-won was requested to prepare "nutritious meals that taste good even when cold." Firefighters wear 25kg of firefighting gear and sweat a lot during their activities. Once dispatched, there is no telling when they will return, and even during meals, if the dispatch alarm sounds, they must drop what they are eating and respond immediately. Due to the nature of their job, they cannot eat comfortably or on time, so they need food that tastes good anytime.

Before starting the cooking, Baek Jong-won inspected the kitchen facilities and the existing menu. Upon seeing the kitchen inside the fire station, Baek Jong-won wore a serious expression. The kitchen, which has to prepare 110 servings, had not only insufficient cooking equipment but also very weak heat power. He then checked the firefighters' existing menu. The recent menu included braised chicken and sweet potatoes, mixed grain rice, squid soup, steamed eggs, seasoned bean sprouts with seaweed flakes, and cubed radish kimchi. Baek Jong-won said, "I feel sorry and touched at the same time. The menu is really like a regular cafeteria meal," and expressed regret, saying, "It is too poor for firefighters who have high physical activity."

Baek Jong-won asked, "Is the support fund very low?" and the nutritionist replied, "It is fixed at 4,000 won per meal. There is no additional support fund." Hearing the nutritionist's answer, he said, "The meal conditions are too poor," and added, "A regular cafeteria meal is actually for people who only eat lunch here and have breakfast and dinner at home. For those who have such intense labor like here, it is insufficient. It needs to be well supplemented," showing his frustration.

Before starting full-scale cooking, Baek Jong-won inspected the kitchen facilities and the existing menu. Upon seeing the kitchen inside the fire station, Baek Jong-won wore a serious expression. The kitchen, which had to prepare 110 servings, not only had few burners but also very weak heat power. He then checked the firefighters' existing menu. The recent menu included braised chicken and sweet potatoes, mixed grain rice, squid soup, steamed eggs, seasoned bean sprouts with seaweed flakes, and kkakdugi.
Photo by tvN 'Baekpacker 2'

In the broadcast that day, Baek Jong-won prepared and served grilled eel, perilla seed samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), green onion kimchi, and medicinal rice with ginseng to the firefighters. The firefighters said it was their first time having a meal with eel and finished their meal deliciously. Even while Baek Jong-won was cooking, the fire station's dispatch alarms kept ringing, and the firefighters went out on calls. Baek Jong-won expressed his gratitude, saying, "Today, we are doing this for them once, but they work hard for the people 365 days a year."

Meanwhile, the quality of meals for firefighters nationwide varies greatly depending on local governments and types of workplaces. According to the "Status of Meal Facility Installation and Unit Price Comparison Table per Number of Fire Stations" obtained by former People Power Party lawmaker Choi Chun-sik from the Fire Agency in 2020, the average unit price per meal by city and province nationwide was 4,187 won, which was lower than the meal unit price for children in Seoul (6,000 won per meal). It is also known that the meal unit price for firefighters varies by up to 4,310 won depending on the local government.

Choi Young-jae, chairman of the Firefighters' Integrated Union, said, "Although firefighters became national employees in 2020, the unit price of a meal varies depending on the situation, so firefighters feel disheartened," and added, "I hope the government steps in and directly solves the problem."