SBS' 'The Story of That Day' (hereinafter referred to as 'Kkokomu') sheds light on the Daeyeongak Hotel fire incident.
'Kokkomu', which will be broadcast on the 2nd, is an episode of 'Fire that hits a skyscraper and the last survivor', and Jang Trio talks about the Daeyeongak Hotel fire incident, which was recorded as the worst building fire disaster before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
At 10 a.m. on December 25, 1971, a loud dispatch bell rang at the Central Fire Station in Myeong-dong, breaking the silence of Christmas morning. The place where the fire was reported was only 700 meters away from the fire station, which can be reached in 2 minutes by car. However, when Park Jun-ho arrived at the scene, he could not keep his mouth shut at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.
The scene that Agent Park Jun-ho saw was shocking in itself. This is because the 21-story skyscraper, the second tallest building in Seoul at the time, was burning like a giant matchbox. The building engulfed in fire was the Daeyeongak Hotel, which was called a landmark of Myeong-dong. It was called a dream hotel for the common people, as the daily cost of accommodation was equivalent to the salary of a civil servant at the time.
How on earth did this ultra-luxurious hotel suddenly become engulfed in a huge fire? On Christmas morning, we visit the beauty salon on the third floor of Daeyeongak Hotel by chance and hear about the dire situation of that day through Ahn Mi-ja, a beauty salon employee who barely survived.
Meanwhile, at a time when firefighters could not even approach the glass shards and flames pouring from the exterior wall of the building, a surprising sight was caught in the eyes of member Park Jun-ho. About 100 people were gathered on the rooftop connected to the 7th floor of the hotel. These were guests on the 7th floor, anxiously awaiting rescue on the outdoor rooftop connected to the end of the hallway.
Coincidentally, the only state-of-the-art elevated ladder truck in Korea was located at the Central Fire Station. Thanks to this, evacuees on the 7th floor rooftop were able to climb the ladder and exit the hotel safely. But unfortunately, the rescue did not end there. This was because the maximum height of the elevated ladder truck was 32 meters and could only reach the 7th floor.
Unable to withstand the heat exceeding 1,000 degrees, guests had to hang on to the windows of the building and wait for rescue, and eventually some began to jump to the ground, hugging their bed mattresses. As many as 38 people jumped, but not a single one of them survived.
Inside the hotel is a heat hell, outside is empty space. All that was left to them was the choice of how to die. Is there any way for the high-rise guests, who are at the crossroads of suffocation and falling to death, to survive?
It's already been three hours since the fire started. While the fire was still raging, an onlooker shouted in surprise, “There’s someone over there.” Surprisingly, an elderly gentleman covered in a blanket appeared at the window on the 11th floor through the thick smoke.
Various ideas were mobilized to save this miracle man who survived the fire for three hours, and amidst everyone's expectations, archery player Jo Chun-bong appeared. The plan was to attach a rescue rope to the end of an arrow and deliver it to the old gentleman. Was this rescue operation, which contained the people's wishes, truly successful?
In this broadcast, actor Kim Kwang-gyu, Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon, and BTOB's Changseop will appear as story friends.
Kim Gwang-gyu visited ‘Kkokkomu’ as Jang Hyun-seong’s story friend. Like a great detective, he was keeping track of the case, and was astonished by the song left behind by two people who had stayed at a hotel using a lodging voucher they received in exchange for appearance fees for a charity concert, but were never able to come out. What kind of song was it that gave him goosebumps?
Hyoyeon of Girls' Generation, a 'professional empathizer', became Jang Sung-gyu's story friend. Hyoyeon, who showed excellent empathy while listening to the story of the tragic Christmas fire incident, said, “There was no time to rejoice that I lived holding on to the rope…” upon seeing the guest trying to escape through the rope hanging from the helicopter and eventually falling. He finally shed tears.
BTOB's Lee Chang-seop returned as a friend of Jang Do-yeon's story. He chose one of three room keys under the guidance of Jang Do-yeon, who became a daily hotelier, and unlike other listeners, he chose the first room he chose. He was angry at the social attitude of 'losing the cow and fixing the barn', which only takes action when a major incident like this occurs, and he seemed to pledge to be more alert.
The tragedy of that day remembered as 'Kkokkomu's Nightmare Before Christmas', 'The fire that hit the skyscraper and the last survivor' will be broadcast at 10:20 pm on Thursday the 2nd.
(SBS Entertainment News Reporter Kang Seon-ae)
