A self-sustaining emergency safety net that enables residents to respond to emergencies on their own has been established on Yeonpyeong Island, on the front line of the West Sea. Incheon’s Ongjin-gun County (Governor Jang Jung-min) announced on the 3rd that, through the Ongjin-gun County Public Health Center, it had successfully completed on-site training for Yeonpyeong Island residents on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of automated external defibrillators (AED). The measure is intended to make up for the limitations of an island region where outside emergency medical support is hard to reach by drawing on residents’ own capabilities.
 [The Korean Today] Outreach first-aid class on Yeonpyeong Island © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The five West Sea islands, including Yeonpyeong Island, have relatively limited access to outside emergency medical support because of their unique geography. Taking these conditions into account, Ongjin-gun County chose to have its health personnel travel directly to the island rather than calling residents to a training venue. The focus was on enabling residents to respond immediately from the nearest point when an emergency occurs.
The training was carried out in cooperation with the Korean Red Cross Incheon Chapter. Moving away from simply watching videos and listening to explanations, it was structured around ‘field-oriented hands-on practice’ designed to make the body react first in an emergency. Expert instructors paired one-on-one with residents to guide the exact location and force of chest compressions in CPR, and had them repeat the process until they had mastered attaching the pads of the automated external defibrillator (AED) and operating the device.
 [The Korean Today] CPR practice by Yeonpyeong Island residents © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
This ‘outreach class for life’ is significant in that residents overcome the environmental constraints unique to the five West Sea islands with their own strength. Given the region’s characteristics, where the arrival of emergency rescue teams can be delayed depending on weather conditions or maritime transport, the aim is for residents to become the ‘first rescuers’ for their neighbors and families and to protect the golden time from the nearest point, rather than waiting for a boat to arrive. Practical benefits are expected in that residents can now handle the first step of emergency response themselves.
To sustain the training’s effects, the county conducted an anonymous satisfaction survey among participating residents. It examined various aspects such as the instructors’ delivery, understanding of the training content, and the suitability of the practice equipment, and the county plans to reflect the residents’ opinions gathered in this way in future health administration and training plans tailored to island regions.
 [The Korean Today] Practice on using the automated external defibrillator (AED) © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
An official from the Ongjin-gun County Public Health Center emphasized, “Yeonpyeong Island is a region where a ‘self-sustaining safety net’ that protects residents’ everyday safety and lives is absolutely as important as security,” adding, “We hope that through this training Yeonpyeong Island residents have gained the confidence that ‘I can save precious lives with my own hands,’ and going forward we will expand outreach training, going on foot to every corner of the five West Sea islands to create an Ongjin-gun County with no safety blind spots.”
Separately from this training, Ongjin-gun County is pursuing measures in parallel to strengthen the emergency medical system in the five West Sea islands. It plans to continue multifaceted policies to upgrade the safety net, such as inspecting emergency helicopter landing pads in island areas and running public campaigns to eradicate acts that obstruct emergency medical care, and to build a tightly knit emergency response system suited to the characteristics of island regions.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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