Director Kwak Kyung-taek, right, poses with actors for their film "The Firefighters" at a theater in Seoul, Monday. From left are actors Oh Dae-hwan, Kim Min-jae, Lee Yoo-young, Joo Won, Yoo Jae-myung, Jang Young-nam and the director. Yonhap

"The Firefighters" focused on depicting the intense efforts and sacrifices of firefighters who tried to save victims, rather than relying on too many cinematic techniques, as it reconstructs a tragic 2001 arson case that occurred in Seoul, film director Kwak Kyung-taek said Monday.

"When I first received the scenario, my heart felt too heavy to handle their story of sacrifice, so I initially declined (the offer to direct). The production company persuaded me saying it was time to address this story. I also felt indebted to firefighters, so I ultimately decided to take on their story," the director said during a press conference at a cinema in Seoul.

"Handling such a story requires great care. While it clearly commemorates someone's sacrifice, as a director, I feel somewhat ashamed to keep emphasizing this aspect to the audience. Though it's heavy, I hope viewers can experience a new perspective through the touching emotions."

"The Firefighters" deals with an incident where six firefighters lost their lives in March 2001 when a building owner's son committed arson at a multifamily home in northwestern Seoul's Hongje-dong.

Their tragic sacrifice brought attention to the poor working conditions of firefighters, and improvements began gradually afterward. Their working schedule changed from alternating days to three shifts and they started receiving proper firefighting suits instead of just waterproof clothing.

The film depicts the daily lives and hardships of firefighters leading up to the climax where the team, including Cheol-woong (Joo Won), Jin-seob (Kwak Do-won), In-ki (Yoo Jae-myung), Hyo-jong (Oh Dae-hwan) and Seo-hee (Lee Yoo-young), respond to the fire in Hongje-dong.

"Since it's based on a true story, while we filmed happily on set, we also carried heavy hearts while acting. I approached my role thinking about the firefighters," Joo said.

"There's one documentary about this incident and I can't count how many times I rewatched it. I hope this incident becomes more widely known," Lee said.

Firefighters prepare to extinguish a fire and save a rescuer from a burning building in a scene from the movie “The Firefighters.” Courtesy of BY4M Studio

Actor Yoo expressed hope that the film would bring more attention to the work firefighters do in our society.

"What surprised me about this film was that it didn't use flashy cinematic techniques to portray these people as heroes. It delivered the firefighters' story as is and I hope this helps the film share their story," Yoo said.

While honoring the noble sacrifices of firefighters, the film also demonstrated exceptional direction in fire scenes. It vividly portrays both the process of firefighters searching for victims through flames and realistic challenges such as fire trucks struggling to access fire scenes due to Korea's poor parking conditions.

“Firefighters told me that smoke was the scariest part of real fire suppression. They said they struggle most with smoke, which makes it impossible to see ahead, and after filming, I understood why many movies failed to properly depict smoke," the director said. "You can't see anything. The biggest challenge was adjusting to make the actors' faces and actions visible in smoke-filled scenes. I think we depicted smoke better than other firefighting movies."

"The Firefighters" will be released in theaters on Dec. 4.