South Korea will help Quebec
Why are Koreans putting out fires in Canada?
On Sunday, 150 firefighters from South Korea flew into Ottawa. They are on their way to the northern province of Quebec, where dozens of forest fires are raging. Their journey was long — one flight took 13 hours. The firefighters were met at the international airport by high-ranking Canadian officials as well as South Korea's ambassador to Canada, Lim Woonsun. He said that South Korea is always ready to come to Canada's aid, because that's all friends do.
The Story of a Friendship
This is not just a figure of speech. The relationship between Canada and Korea is indeed close, and the two countries interact in different spheres, from medicine and higher education to culture and sports. The reason for this friendship lies in the past, namely in the 1950s. During the Korean War, South Korea was supported by the U.S. and allied nations. America provided the most soldiers to the country, with Canada second. It sent 26,000 troops to the Republic, of whom 561 died during the war. The U.S. aimed to prevent the Communists from coming to power, while Canada was more supportive of Korean democracy and interested in the country's affairs. South Korea has called Canada its friend ever since.
Canadian involvement in protecting that country did not end there: Canadian soldiers are permanently stationed in South Korea to patrol the border with the North. When Kim Jong-un announced in May of this year that he was expanding his nuclear program, Canada supported South Korea and sent military personnel there in case of armed conflict. Fortunately, the fears were not borne out and the two Koreas are keeping the peace.
Fires are on the decline
Now the Korean firefighters will stay in Quebec for a month. This is the last international team to arrive in Canada. The country doesn't need any more foreign help — the fires have finally been brought under control. The Korean team had been preparing for the trip for two months: firefighters trained and briefed and studied forest fires. Not all of them speak English, but they have interpreters assigned to them. Often they and their Canadian counterparts understand each other without words. The work of firefighters around the world is similar, so teams from different countries work together in emergency situations.
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