The day before Lunar New Year, padyatri took a walk from home toward the Nakdong-gang River. Since it was the holiday season, people were only sparsely seen along the walking path by the stream.
For the first time in a while, he arrived at the Samunjin 사문진 Ferry Tavern, located on the riverside in front of Hwawon 화원 Resort. Villagers used to cross the river here by ferry before the bridge connecting Hwawon and Dasan 다산 was built.
Now, although the ferry is gone, the tavern has been restored and is bustling with locals and tourists. That day was no exception; the tavern was packed with people enjoying food accompanied by alcohol, such as Makgeolli 막걸리. Since the tavern's restoration, small cruise boats have been in operation. A ticket booth and staff members are stationed at the cruise dock.
As he stood on the riverbank overlooking the dock, gazing at the river, a commotion broke out among the staff, indicating an emergency. They were pointing toward the middle of the bridge, exchanging words urgently. padyatri looked in that direction and saw someone struggling in the water! Near the bridge pier, a person was repeatedly bobbing up and down, sinking and resurfacing. Immediately, a rescue boat departed from the dock, approached the area under the bridge, and pulled the drowning person out of the water. In the meantime, the police and the 119 rescue team arrived.
Fortunately, the person who was drowning was rescued. After staying on a boat docked at the pier, he was wrapped in a blanket and taken away from the scene in a police car. They later said that a foreigner had jumped from the middle of the bridge in a suicide attempt. The center of Samunjin Bridge is known as a frequent spot for such attempts, which is why an SOS emergency phone is installed on the bridge railing.
While some people were happily drinking and reveling at the riverside tavern, at that very moment, another person had given up on life and was struggling at the threshold of death in the cold river water.
