Shin Dong-guk stopped favored Park Hyeon-bin at Road FC 078 after enduring a punishing first-round barrage.

Firefighter Shin Dong-guk looks at the crowd at Road FC 078, a mixed martial arts event held at Jangchung Arena in Jung District, central Seoul, on Aug. 29.
ROAD FC

By day, Shin Dong-guk races into burning buildings to save strangers. On a recent Saturday, the 45-year-old firefighter climbed into a cage instead, and fought like his life depended on it.

At Road FC 078, a mixed martial arts event held at Jangchung Arena in Jung District, central Seoul, Shin faced Park Hyeon-bin in a 73-kilogram (159-pound) bout scheduled for three five-minute rounds and won by technical knockout (TKO) at 4 minutes 39 seconds into the first round. Park, a rising star with a 5-2 record, was seen as the favorite going in on Aug. 29. 

The victory unfolded like a drama. Over roughly five minutes of fighting, Shin absorbed more than 70 punches to the face and was knocked down twice. By the two-minute-30-second mark, exhausted, he dropped his hands and fought with no guard up at all. Though staggering, he kept throwing punches. His fighting spirit brought spectators to tears. The relentless attacks eventually left Park reeling, and Shin seized his opening, unloading a fury of blows to finish the fight.

“This win means more because I earned it by shadowboxing on duty, and running 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) after putting my twin sons to bed,” Shin said. “The one thing tougher than a fighter? A firefighter.”

Shin is an 18-year veteran firefighter currently serving with the water rescue unit at Danyang Fire Station in North Chungcheong, holding the rank of fire lieutenant. He is also a former special forces sergeant who served in Iraq. In 2009, he won the national firefighter competition and received an early promotion. In 2023, he appeared on the first season of Netflix’s “Physical: 100” (2023–), finishing fourth out of 100 competitors in the dead hang mission, beating out elite athletes including judoka Choo Sung-hoon and skeleton racer Yun Sung-bin. Among his colleagues, he’s known as a superhero so tough that even fire itself is said to flee from him.

Firefighter Shin Dong-guk enters a fighting ring with his firefighting suit on
ROAD FC

As a child, Shin was small and was bullied by classmates. His home life was difficult, too. “When I came home after being pushed around by kids at school, my parents were often fighting,” Shin said. “I decided I had to be strong to survive.” To overcome that sense of weakness, he applied for the special forces.

His dream of becoming a firefighter took shape in 2006, after he witnessed a traffic accident. While driving through his hometown of Chungju, North Chungcheong, he saw a truck overturn. He froze and could do nothing. “After leaving the special forces, I had this pride that I was the strongest person in the world, but I felt ashamed,” he said. “Then firefighters showed up and carried out the rescue. I thought, I want to do that too.” He passed the fire rescue special recruitment exam in 2008.

Firefighter Shin Dong-guk fights during the Road FC 078, a mixed martial arts event held at Jangchung Arena in Jung District, central Seoul, on Aug. 29.
ROAD FC

Even for a young Shin, firefighting wasn’t easy to handle. The pressure of disaster scenes is hard to imagine for those who haven’t experienced it. He at times had to recover dozens of bodies. Many of his colleagues died in the line of duty. Shin developed post-traumatic stress disorder and struggled with insomnia. When he did manage to sleep, he suffered recurring nightmares. Depression followed.

He took up mixed martial arts in 2016 to fight through it, and within a year of starting, made his professional debut at age 36. In his first four fights, he won three, emerging as a late-blooming star. He entered the cage wearing a firefighter’s helmet and turnout coat, and fought with Korea’s emergency number “119” stitched onto his fight shorts.

Over 10 years and 16 fights, his depression lifted. “I like giving middle-aged people the courage to believe they can do it,” Shin said. “I’m proud that it’s shown people how hard firefighters train, body and mind, to protect the public.”

Shin now plans to give up the sport he loves. “I’ll suppress that passion and retire from fighting, for my family,” he said, before adding with a smile, “But if Choo Sung-hoon, who’s preparing for his retirement match, calls me up, I’d gladly get back in the cage. I already sent him a message asking him to pick me.”

BY PIH JU-YOUNG [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.