Rescue Medic Travels From South Korea to Join ‘The Best’

S tation 8 Rescue Paramedic Hwajung Yoon is one FDNY member who is definitely living out his career dream.

While studying to be a Paramedic in South Korea in 2009, he Googled “the best EMS in the world” and the FDNY appeared first on the results list. When he saw photos and videos of our members in action, it was then that he knew working here was the perfect fit for him. Soon after, he learned the English language and moved to the United States to attend Paramedic School at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.

“I graduated from LaGuardia in 2013 and right after that, I applied to join the FDNY. A year later, I joined the Department as a Paramedic and it has been a dream come true for me ever since,” he recalled. “I came all the way from South Korea just to work in this EMS and each time I go to work, it’s really a great feeling because this is a special career.”

FDNY Rescue Medics are part of an elite group within the Department and they are trained for many highly dangerous emergencies including water and high-angle rescues, as well as construction site and bridge collapses.

“A Rescue Medic’s first priority is to check the patient’s vital signs and then we begin patient care, which includes advanced life-saving efforts,” Yoon explained. “We go into hectic situations and you have to be passionate about the job and have a good heart while caring for people. As a Rescue Medic, I respond to every borough in New York City and I get to see diverse groups of people with different cultures and I get to help them. I love the people I work with here at the FDNY, I consider a lot of them my mentors, and I’m just really happy to be working in a Department that teaches us so much and is so well-respected.”