The 2021 film “I Don’t Fire Myself” shines a spotlight on transmission tower workers, whose stories are rarely highlighted on the screen. Although they perform the critical task of inspecting and repairing power transmission towers, the workers are employed by subcontractors. The film vividly portrays their grueling work, hazardous conditions and unfair treatment. Jeong-eun (Yoo Da-in), an employee temporarily assigned from the main contractor, and Choong-sik (Oh Jung-se), the least experienced member of the crew, bring the workers’ struggles to life. The film was shot around Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in late autumn 2018. Most of the transmission tower scenes were filmed at an electrical training center to ensure the safety of the actors. Before filming began, however, director Lee Tae-gyeom and the cast decided to climb an actual transmission tower to experience, even briefly, what the workers feel. The climb was intended only as an experiential exercise, not an actual maintenance operation, so the director instructed everyone to stop halfway up. He himself climbed only to the
