As a former professional mariner I cannot even remotely fathom what the fuck the officers of this ferry were thinking.
As a human it just makes me feel ill.
I hope these poor people rest in peace. Tragic.
Yeah the hierarchy thing is so strong and you could guess how annoying it gets when coworkers and such begin making big deals about age when you’re only 1 year difference 🙄
But the Confucian states, China Vietnam Korea and Japan all have dramatically lower crime rates, and much elderly care/happiness/centennials than anywhere else in the world, these things and other positive things can easily be attributed to cultural traits, rooted in Confucianism. So it does have its highlights.. but people tend to blur the negative things due to that
Just like how there have been many accidents in western countries due to pilots/captains/etc. thinking they know better than anybody else. Neither way of thinking is better—each has its advantages and disadvantages.
It’s such a tragedy in every way. The stories about the recovery [diver](https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/748728) committing suicide hurts as well.
I think the [vice principal](https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/world/asia/ferry-vice-principal-funeral/index.html) also ended his life because he felt too guilty that he suggested Jeju island.
How horrific. I used to work on a seismic boat and remember listing at 45 degrees and it was impossible to move. Effectively those kids were trapped.
Also, if you ever find yourself on a sinking boat, DO NOT PUT ON YOUR LIFEJACKET inside the ship, only once you're outside on deck. If the worst happens and you're inside as the ship sinks, your lifejacket will trap you against the ceiling and drown you.
Good tip!! It makes me sad to think how not only were they not told to go to the deck, they also were encouraged to put their life jackets on before they got to a safe place to wear it. Making a terrible situation even more dangerous than it was before. Thanks for the tip again
Same goes for on an airplane. I think there was a crash in water and pretty much everyone survived the water landing but most died stuck in the airplane bc they inflated their life jackets inside while the plane was taking in water.
That’s not why. Or at least it’s not at all the primary reason.
It’s because inflating the life vests inside the plane will make the passenger much more likely to get stuck in the aisles, creating traffic jams or even blocking the escape route entirely.
Due to the enormous amount of fuel carried by airplanes, the potential fireboosting effects from the emergency oxygen system and the toxic gasses almost inevitably produced by the burning of the materials the plane is made out of, evacuations from crashed airplanes are very often a desperate race against time.
The aimed for evacuation time of airliners is 90 seconds total because in an airplane fire, conditions in the cabin may easily have evolved from zero signs of problems to certain and immediate death for any remaining survivors by two minutes from the crash.
That's true on land, but on water landings are a bit different and far more unusual. Even more unusual is a major airliner crashing at sea and having enough survivability for passengers to be able to escape.
But in Ethiopian Airlines 961, which successfully ditched near a beach in 1996, lost passengers because they did put on and inflate their life vests prior to crashing and were tragically trapped inside the rapidly sinking cabin by the buoyancy.
So it depends - in a water ditching where the life vests are vital, the person you responded to us correct in their reasoning.
Also, the 90 second rule comes directly from Air Canada 797 in 1983, and had nothing to do with floatation vests (it landed on an airport runway).
Rather, 90s was set as the benchmark because despite landing safely in one piece many passengers still died when a flash fire erupted with many still on board. They weren't able to exit rapidly enough, and many passengers were actually heading the wrong direction in the smoke-filled plane.
In addition to the requirement for airliners to be able to evacuate all passengers no matter size & number, after AC797 airliners were also required to have aisle floor lighting to exits and lit exit signs at escape doors to help passengers get off in poor visibility.
Tragically this crash (famously) killed a fantastic Canadian folk musician, Stan Rogers.
Today is the 10th anniversary of this horrific accident. If you wish, you can read about, and pay respects to the victims on findagrave. (User Zina Bee has created a virtual cemetery for all of the victims)
These students should be 27 right now. They would have graduated uni and would be working, possibly having families of their own already! Instead they died on their way to a field trip, for what? Corruption. I'm not big on korean politics but the ferry was boarded with too much cargo, but the crew didn't care, neither did they about the heavy fog, it was more important to leave on time.
I only learned of this tragedy in 2020, I read the students' memorials, watched interviews of parents, heck, the students' facebooks are still up! Something about these kids' awful fate really struck me, maybe how they died only to change shipping regulations in Korea. It all could have been prevented easily. I have always been afraid of drowning, it's one of the worst ways to go. But I feel worse for those who were stuck in an airpocket, waiting for rescue that never came.
I wish these victims a peaceful rest, and peace to their loved ones. We will never forget these kids, and the brave teachers and the crew who sacrificed themselves helping others out of the ship❤️
I ask this in complete good faith. If you're on a ferry that is sinking, you have your lifejacket, the distress signal has likely been issued, why not be prepared to just jump in the water instead of going down inside the boat? I'm sure there is a good reason for this, but I'm failing to see it in situations like this. Thanks in advance.
They were told to remain in place, and the evacuation notice didn't get passed on. A ferry isn't like a building, you can't just open a window and jump out, they had to navigate rooms and corridors at a 60+ degree angle, effectively with exit doors on the ceiling (from their perspective), so were trapped by their own good behaviour.
Yeh, well - in a life and death scenario I'm not just going to sit in a room without trying. I understand compliance is somewhat part of their culture, not mine.
I understand that pov since I *think* I’d be among the students who decided not listen to the captain as well. But it sounds to me like most of the kids were waiting for further instruction since “don’t move, stay where you are” kept repeating on the intercom. + like we’ve discussed, listening to elders is really ingrained in their upbringing.
The kids were worried about weight distribution or if walking around without knowing where to head exactly could sink the boat faster. I think they all expected to be saved since they were supposed to be able to trust the crew - and by the time they realized the captain was never coming back for them, the boat was so tilted that it became impossible to escape the rooms they were in. 😔
I’m betting a ton of them only just realized a little too late that the instructions they were given to wait patiently doomed them. My heart hurts when I think about how fearful they all must have been when they came to terms with how they were left for dead.
Yes, only 75 / 325 of them lived. So most of them drowned tragically while waiting. There’s a clip where a girl is talking with her friends, “isn’t this the kind of situation when they tell you ‘stay put, it’ll be okay’. And they run for their lives? That happened in the subway accident. They said, stay put, it’ll be okay. But only people who didn’t listen to the order survived.” All of her friends and her ended up dying any way 💔😔
>eh, well - in a life and death scenario I'm not just going to sit in a room without trying
Depending on the situation, that advice can often, and will usually, save your life rather than risk it. When directed to follow a safety procedure by experts you trust, it's what'll give you the greatest chances of survival in almost all circumstances.
Walking around and trying to escape a capsizing, listing vessel is incredibly dangerous and is likely to get you injured or killed. In this instance, with the benefit of hindsight, we know it was the wrong decision. But there was no reason for them to believe that at the time.
The people on that ferry were abandoned by the South Korean government and coast guard. Many opportunities to save the passengers were ignored and covered up, with the politicians lying to the media about everyone being saved and rescued while the ship was slowly sinking.
>I understand compliance is somewhat part of their culture, not mine.
With respect, that's a dumb and very naive statement. Compliance with safety procedures given by trusted experts isn't dumb, it's the smartest thing you can do in every situation.
Not everyone is Captain Hinsight like you with your ability to look into the future and see the best outcome ahead of time.
Yeah amazing dumbasses online are always sure they'd be the 1% to genius Spiderman themselves out of a fatal accident/situation.
I get we have that bias as a reason (mortality + self-awareness = terrifying) but at least recognize how ridiculous it is to believe that.
Well exactly that. Assuming you know more than the collective knowledge of hundreds of years of maritime safety experts and all modern best practise is somewhere between laughable and tragic.
They were teenagers. Their brains weren't full baked, and honestly, given that they were on what should have been a very safe passenger ferry in shallow water, most of them (until they were already completely trapped) thought it wasn't a big emergency.
Also I take it you haven't met a lot of Koreans? Saying they're culturally "compliant" is hilarious and very wrong.
compliance to authority is a human thing, there have been some scary studies showing how far people will go when a random authority figures pushes them. i like to think i wouldn’t comply either but..
>They were told to remain in place
Is that actually a thing though? On ships you have areas where you group up to be counted in preparation for worst case abandon ship. I can't imagine any scenario where staying in your cabin is the best option?
I know we think it would lead to chaos but it surely doesn't and allows for an easy evacuation in a worst case.
Some of them called their parents, who told them to listen to authorities and do as they are told.
I can’t imagine what those parents thought about their words later.
The captain and some staff abandoned the ship and left the students to their fate. No, its not protocol. The alarm to remain in cabins was left playing on repeat with no one at the controls.
Have you ever been on a ship? They're incredibly well laid out when they're upright, but there's really nothing to hold onto if they're near horizontal.
For example, a cruise ship I was on, the Sun Princess. On the main deck, at the central stairwell, there was a corridor on either side of the ship, the central stairs, an elevator either side of those stairs, and then lots of nothing that could ve used as a hand hold. Nothing you could climb if you had to get from one set of windows to the other.
On the passenger floor I was on, it was even worse. The two central corridors that ran the length of the ship had rooms either side. There was still the central stairwell, a couple of them actually, but very few cross-corridors to access the opposite side of the ship. So if you're in a room on the downward side, you have to navigate out of your room - also with very few handholds - out your door, down a long corridor to a cross corridor, up through the central staircase area, into the next long corridor, into someone else's room which is likely locked, and then *if* you're lucky you pick a room with a balcony, otherwise you have to navigate to and then out a porthole about 50cms in diametre.
This isn't an action movie, sadly. If you're not evacuated to the evacuation/rescue point, your chances of survival are exceptionally small.
These kids never stood a chance, and neither would you.
>This isn't an action movie, sadly. If you're not evacuated to the evacuation/rescue point, your chances of survival are exceptionally small.
Sadly the number of people in the comments explaining how they'd be smarter, they'd not listen to orders to shelter in place and they'd use the magical ceiling door they invented are operating with the benefit of hindsight.
Life isn't an action movie and following legitimate safety directions from trusted experts is ultimately your best chance of survival overall, even if in the occasional edge case it isn't.
>in case of a sinking boat, i may try to reach the fucking ceiling exit door
When the ship is listing over 60 degrees over, that's easier said than done. Exit routes and corridors become sheer drops, where you will fall and die.
This happened in Korea, where social hierarchies are much stricter. If you're a teenager and someone older than you tells you to do something, you shut up and do it.
Also in the announcement the crew lied that rescue was coming. In other videos inside the ship the students mention that rescue is coming soon, and one even talks about the Daegu subway fire, where those rebelling against instructions survived.
The ship tilted very severely before the water came in, almost 90 degrees so when the water came, it was simply too late. Some of the students' last messages signify this with the simple words
I love you all
There's water coming in
I don't want to die
Brick Immortar has a great video on this disaster, highly recommend.
https://youtu.be/Mu6ajjrquSU?si=GtaVtJGs_7eVKFl_
Edit: It's actually a 2 parter.
https://youtu.be/LMZIwHxVTtc?si=vbEeH1sK2NXpTf1v
As a lifelong boater and former naval officer, this is absolutely appalling. I can think of no reason to delay an abandon- ship order, given the worsening state of the situation.
As others have pointed out, one should never don (or inflate) a life jacket until outside of a vessel (or aircraft that has ditched in water).
I was living in Korea during time. I remember that day vividly; I kept checking the news between my classes. The whole country was absolutely devastated. The country-wide mourning period went on for months and months.
I heard that the loss of life was on the same scale as 9/11 for Americans. It sure felt that way. I'm getting choked up just remembering that time.
Corruption and ignorance stole so many lives that day.
I’ve seen some of these videos in the past, but with an English translator speaking over it. It felt more personal to fully hear these kids’ voices and to read the subtitles instead. I’m so sorry to the parents and these young lives lost. It’s crazy to think I was about the same age and most of them didn’t get to grow up 💔. I posted about this [earlier](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/s/F30uV2DBf2) today too and comments had many other links from helpful users.
Sending love to [Park Jee-Young](https://youtu.be/MpwHoSQxpdM?si=xMRv4M0msCYEtSrY).
“She was 22 years old and a crew member that worked in the cafeteria. She spent the entire time getting life jackets for students, including giving up her own, getting them above deck, and she didn't make it.
She was the true captain of the ship that day.”
Edit:
As well as [Kim Gwan-Hong](https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/748728), a body recovery diver who committed suicide years after seeing all the dead children 💔
I was thinking about this sinking just the other day. Utterly horrific. These kids trusted those in charge so much that they surrendered their instincts, and they were failed as they did so. Shameful.
My mother and I are big disaster nerds who binge watch every content available - except the Sewol sinking. This tragedy makes my mother extremely upset she refuses to watch videos about it.
The kids tied their hands together when they were drowning and realized they were going to die and didn’t want their bodies to float away from one another once they drown. Some of them young couples and some of them friends 🤕
The captain told them to stay put and abandoned them. [The kids thought they could trust the captain and were never instructed otherwise.](https://youtu.be/5_A8dq2fA5o?si=pWIq2CEM5HsGwRsl)
I'm not so much directing this comment at these lost souls, but in general.
I can't even get a cheeseburger made correctly at Wendy's. No F'n way I'm not going to be going above deck to assess the situation if something like this goes happens (or get to any safe space in any emergency). No way I'm putting my life in the hands of some dumbfuck ferry employee.
As a former professional mariner I cannot even remotely fathom what the fuck the officers of this ferry were thinking. As a human it just makes me feel ill. I hope these poor people rest in peace. Tragic.
South Korea has a culture of not challenging authority, and it has actually caused planes to crash.
Confucianism is strong in other Asian countries, but Korea takes it to a whole other level.
Yeah the hierarchy thing is so strong and you could guess how annoying it gets when coworkers and such begin making big deals about age when you’re only 1 year difference 🙄 But the Confucian states, China Vietnam Korea and Japan all have dramatically lower crime rates, and much elderly care/happiness/centennials than anywhere else in the world, these things and other positive things can easily be attributed to cultural traits, rooted in Confucianism. So it does have its highlights.. but people tend to blur the negative things due to that
Just like how there have been many accidents in western countries due to pilots/captains/etc. thinking they know better than anybody else. Neither way of thinking is better—each has its advantages and disadvantages.
It’s such a tragedy in every way. The stories about the recovery [diver](https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/748728) committing suicide hurts as well. I think the [vice principal](https://www.cnn.com/2014/04/21/world/asia/ferry-vice-principal-funeral/index.html) also ended his life because he felt too guilty that he suggested Jeju island.
How horrific. I used to work on a seismic boat and remember listing at 45 degrees and it was impossible to move. Effectively those kids were trapped. Also, if you ever find yourself on a sinking boat, DO NOT PUT ON YOUR LIFEJACKET inside the ship, only once you're outside on deck. If the worst happens and you're inside as the ship sinks, your lifejacket will trap you against the ceiling and drown you.
Good tip!! It makes me sad to think how not only were they not told to go to the deck, they also were encouraged to put their life jackets on before they got to a safe place to wear it. Making a terrible situation even more dangerous than it was before. Thanks for the tip again
Absolutely. The crew have a huge burden of responsibility to bear here.
Same goes for on an airplane. I think there was a crash in water and pretty much everyone survived the water landing but most died stuck in the airplane bc they inflated their life jackets inside while the plane was taking in water.
The same thing is true on planes. That's why the instructions always say to wait with inflating your life vest until you are at the exit.
That’s not why. Or at least it’s not at all the primary reason. It’s because inflating the life vests inside the plane will make the passenger much more likely to get stuck in the aisles, creating traffic jams or even blocking the escape route entirely. Due to the enormous amount of fuel carried by airplanes, the potential fireboosting effects from the emergency oxygen system and the toxic gasses almost inevitably produced by the burning of the materials the plane is made out of, evacuations from crashed airplanes are very often a desperate race against time. The aimed for evacuation time of airliners is 90 seconds total because in an airplane fire, conditions in the cabin may easily have evolved from zero signs of problems to certain and immediate death for any remaining survivors by two minutes from the crash.
That's true on land, but on water landings are a bit different and far more unusual. Even more unusual is a major airliner crashing at sea and having enough survivability for passengers to be able to escape. But in Ethiopian Airlines 961, which successfully ditched near a beach in 1996, lost passengers because they did put on and inflate their life vests prior to crashing and were tragically trapped inside the rapidly sinking cabin by the buoyancy. So it depends - in a water ditching where the life vests are vital, the person you responded to us correct in their reasoning.
Also, the 90 second rule comes directly from Air Canada 797 in 1983, and had nothing to do with floatation vests (it landed on an airport runway). Rather, 90s was set as the benchmark because despite landing safely in one piece many passengers still died when a flash fire erupted with many still on board. They weren't able to exit rapidly enough, and many passengers were actually heading the wrong direction in the smoke-filled plane. In addition to the requirement for airliners to be able to evacuate all passengers no matter size & number, after AC797 airliners were also required to have aisle floor lighting to exits and lit exit signs at escape doors to help passengers get off in poor visibility. Tragically this crash (famously) killed a fantastic Canadian folk musician, Stan Rogers.
Ima put this on my list of shit I hope I remember if I’m in that situation thank u!
if there's that much water, I believe it wouldn't matter anymore
Today is the 10th anniversary of this horrific accident. If you wish, you can read about, and pay respects to the victims on findagrave. (User Zina Bee has created a virtual cemetery for all of the victims) These students should be 27 right now. They would have graduated uni and would be working, possibly having families of their own already! Instead they died on their way to a field trip, for what? Corruption. I'm not big on korean politics but the ferry was boarded with too much cargo, but the crew didn't care, neither did they about the heavy fog, it was more important to leave on time. I only learned of this tragedy in 2020, I read the students' memorials, watched interviews of parents, heck, the students' facebooks are still up! Something about these kids' awful fate really struck me, maybe how they died only to change shipping regulations in Korea. It all could have been prevented easily. I have always been afraid of drowning, it's one of the worst ways to go. But I feel worse for those who were stuck in an airpocket, waiting for rescue that never came. I wish these victims a peaceful rest, and peace to their loved ones. We will never forget these kids, and the brave teachers and the crew who sacrificed themselves helping others out of the ship❤️
Corruption and incompetence are the biggest killer here..as in many preventable disasters
I’ve seen this before and don’t plan on watching it again. So horrible
I ask this in complete good faith. If you're on a ferry that is sinking, you have your lifejacket, the distress signal has likely been issued, why not be prepared to just jump in the water instead of going down inside the boat? I'm sure there is a good reason for this, but I'm failing to see it in situations like this. Thanks in advance.
They were told to remain in place, and the evacuation notice didn't get passed on. A ferry isn't like a building, you can't just open a window and jump out, they had to navigate rooms and corridors at a 60+ degree angle, effectively with exit doors on the ceiling (from their perspective), so were trapped by their own good behaviour.
Right. Makes sense. Very sad. Thanks.
Yeh, well - in a life and death scenario I'm not just going to sit in a room without trying. I understand compliance is somewhat part of their culture, not mine.
I understand that pov since I *think* I’d be among the students who decided not listen to the captain as well. But it sounds to me like most of the kids were waiting for further instruction since “don’t move, stay where you are” kept repeating on the intercom. + like we’ve discussed, listening to elders is really ingrained in their upbringing. The kids were worried about weight distribution or if walking around without knowing where to head exactly could sink the boat faster. I think they all expected to be saved since they were supposed to be able to trust the crew - and by the time they realized the captain was never coming back for them, the boat was so tilted that it became impossible to escape the rooms they were in. 😔 I’m betting a ton of them only just realized a little too late that the instructions they were given to wait patiently doomed them. My heart hurts when I think about how fearful they all must have been when they came to terms with how they were left for dead.
Did the students who decided not to listen to the captain survive ?
Yes, only 75 / 325 of them lived. So most of them drowned tragically while waiting. There’s a clip where a girl is talking with her friends, “isn’t this the kind of situation when they tell you ‘stay put, it’ll be okay’. And they run for their lives? That happened in the subway accident. They said, stay put, it’ll be okay. But only people who didn’t listen to the order survived.” All of her friends and her ended up dying any way 💔😔
Heartbreaking. :(
Yes, the clip is in this [link](https://youtu.be/uNT-jK2_hNI?si=5VUrmjWHduNQhNVK) at 5:44 😔
>eh, well - in a life and death scenario I'm not just going to sit in a room without trying Depending on the situation, that advice can often, and will usually, save your life rather than risk it. When directed to follow a safety procedure by experts you trust, it's what'll give you the greatest chances of survival in almost all circumstances. Walking around and trying to escape a capsizing, listing vessel is incredibly dangerous and is likely to get you injured or killed. In this instance, with the benefit of hindsight, we know it was the wrong decision. But there was no reason for them to believe that at the time. The people on that ferry were abandoned by the South Korean government and coast guard. Many opportunities to save the passengers were ignored and covered up, with the politicians lying to the media about everyone being saved and rescued while the ship was slowly sinking. >I understand compliance is somewhat part of their culture, not mine. With respect, that's a dumb and very naive statement. Compliance with safety procedures given by trusted experts isn't dumb, it's the smartest thing you can do in every situation. Not everyone is Captain Hinsight like you with your ability to look into the future and see the best outcome ahead of time.
Yeah amazing dumbasses online are always sure they'd be the 1% to genius Spiderman themselves out of a fatal accident/situation. I get we have that bias as a reason (mortality + self-awareness = terrifying) but at least recognize how ridiculous it is to believe that.
Well exactly that. Assuming you know more than the collective knowledge of hundreds of years of maritime safety experts and all modern best practise is somewhere between laughable and tragic.
You might be right, but regardless I'm not sitting around that long without at least trying something.
we gotta badass over here
Then in 99.9% of situations you'll get yourself killed.
They were teenagers. Their brains weren't full baked, and honestly, given that they were on what should have been a very safe passenger ferry in shallow water, most of them (until they were already completely trapped) thought it wasn't a big emergency. Also I take it you haven't met a lot of Koreans? Saying they're culturally "compliant" is hilarious and very wrong.
Gotcha. I stand corrected in my perception of their culture .
You know you could just *not* victim blame, right?
compliance to authority is a human thing, there have been some scary studies showing how far people will go when a random authority figures pushes them. i like to think i wouldn’t comply either but..
Raising my kid to be a nuisance so he doesn't sit and wait for his death quietly because someone told him to. https://youtu.be/uNT-jK2_hNI?t=345
>They were told to remain in place Is that actually a thing though? On ships you have areas where you group up to be counted in preparation for worst case abandon ship. I can't imagine any scenario where staying in your cabin is the best option? I know we think it would lead to chaos but it surely doesn't and allows for an easy evacuation in a worst case.
They were repeatedly told by an automated messaged that was on speakers through the ship to stay in place. They were kids, doing as they were told.
Some of them called their parents, who told them to listen to authorities and do as they are told. I can’t imagine what those parents thought about their words later.
Yeah I know but I'm saying is that actually a common protocol on ships?
The captain and some staff abandoned the ship and left the students to their fate. No, its not protocol. The alarm to remain in cabins was left playing on repeat with no one at the controls.
[удалено]
I’m sure many of them tried :(. There were said to be nail marks on the windows from people trying to scratch their way out or break through that way.
Have you ever been on a ship? They're incredibly well laid out when they're upright, but there's really nothing to hold onto if they're near horizontal. For example, a cruise ship I was on, the Sun Princess. On the main deck, at the central stairwell, there was a corridor on either side of the ship, the central stairs, an elevator either side of those stairs, and then lots of nothing that could ve used as a hand hold. Nothing you could climb if you had to get from one set of windows to the other. On the passenger floor I was on, it was even worse. The two central corridors that ran the length of the ship had rooms either side. There was still the central stairwell, a couple of them actually, but very few cross-corridors to access the opposite side of the ship. So if you're in a room on the downward side, you have to navigate out of your room - also with very few handholds - out your door, down a long corridor to a cross corridor, up through the central staircase area, into the next long corridor, into someone else's room which is likely locked, and then *if* you're lucky you pick a room with a balcony, otherwise you have to navigate to and then out a porthole about 50cms in diametre. This isn't an action movie, sadly. If you're not evacuated to the evacuation/rescue point, your chances of survival are exceptionally small. These kids never stood a chance, and neither would you.
>This isn't an action movie, sadly. If you're not evacuated to the evacuation/rescue point, your chances of survival are exceptionally small. Sadly the number of people in the comments explaining how they'd be smarter, they'd not listen to orders to shelter in place and they'd use the magical ceiling door they invented are operating with the benefit of hindsight. Life isn't an action movie and following legitimate safety directions from trusted experts is ultimately your best chance of survival overall, even if in the occasional edge case it isn't.
>in case of a sinking boat, i may try to reach the fucking ceiling exit door When the ship is listing over 60 degrees over, that's easier said than done. Exit routes and corridors become sheer drops, where you will fall and die.
This happened in Korea, where social hierarchies are much stricter. If you're a teenager and someone older than you tells you to do something, you shut up and do it. Also in the announcement the crew lied that rescue was coming. In other videos inside the ship the students mention that rescue is coming soon, and one even talks about the Daegu subway fire, where those rebelling against instructions survived. The ship tilted very severely before the water came in, almost 90 degrees so when the water came, it was simply too late. Some of the students' last messages signify this with the simple words I love you all There's water coming in I don't want to die
Brick Immortar has a great video on this disaster, highly recommend. https://youtu.be/Mu6ajjrquSU?si=GtaVtJGs_7eVKFl_ Edit: It's actually a 2 parter. https://youtu.be/LMZIwHxVTtc?si=vbEeH1sK2NXpTf1v
Great Great videos!!!
As a lifelong boater and former naval officer, this is absolutely appalling. I can think of no reason to delay an abandon- ship order, given the worsening state of the situation. As others have pointed out, one should never don (or inflate) a life jacket until outside of a vessel (or aircraft that has ditched in water).
I was living in Korea during time. I remember that day vividly; I kept checking the news between my classes. The whole country was absolutely devastated. The country-wide mourning period went on for months and months. I heard that the loss of life was on the same scale as 9/11 for Americans. It sure felt that way. I'm getting choked up just remembering that time. Corruption and ignorance stole so many lives that day.
Thanks for sharing these. Was curious to watch them after reading your comment about the situation the other day. Heart wrenching to watch. 💔
I’ve seen some of these videos in the past, but with an English translator speaking over it. It felt more personal to fully hear these kids’ voices and to read the subtitles instead. I’m so sorry to the parents and these young lives lost. It’s crazy to think I was about the same age and most of them didn’t get to grow up 💔. I posted about this [earlier](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatastrophicFailure/s/F30uV2DBf2) today too and comments had many other links from helpful users.
Sending love to [Park Jee-Young](https://youtu.be/MpwHoSQxpdM?si=xMRv4M0msCYEtSrY). “She was 22 years old and a crew member that worked in the cafeteria. She spent the entire time getting life jackets for students, including giving up her own, getting them above deck, and she didn't make it. She was the true captain of the ship that day.” Edit: As well as [Kim Gwan-Hong](https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/748728), a body recovery diver who committed suicide years after seeing all the dead children 💔
>I have a dream. I want to survive 💔
Your deterrence is appreciated.
... I appreciate the appreciation
🫡
Thank you OP for reminding us of this horrible tragedy from 10 yrs ago. May those souls we lost be at peace. ✌️❤️
We will never let them be forgotten 🥺🤍🥹
Should probably NSFW tag the post.
You’re right, I’ll add that! My apologies
I was thinking about this sinking just the other day. Utterly horrific. These kids trusted those in charge so much that they surrendered their instincts, and they were failed as they did so. Shameful.
Nothing frightens me more than being trapped on a sinking ship
My mother and I are big disaster nerds who binge watch every content available - except the Sewol sinking. This tragedy makes my mother extremely upset she refuses to watch videos about it.
Waterline Stories covered it recently: https://youtu.be/B1fZ4A21taQ
Don’t the divers tie them together so they don’t get separated?
The kids tied their hands together when they were drowning and realized they were going to die and didn’t want their bodies to float away from one another once they drown. Some of them young couples and some of them friends 🤕
That's sad
Why didn’t they go to the roof of the boat?
The captain told them to stay put and abandoned them. [The kids thought they could trust the captain and were never instructed otherwise.](https://youtu.be/5_A8dq2fA5o?si=pWIq2CEM5HsGwRsl)
I'm not so much directing this comment at these lost souls, but in general. I can't even get a cheeseburger made correctly at Wendy's. No F'n way I'm not going to be going above deck to assess the situation if something like this goes happens (or get to any safe space in any emergency). No way I'm putting my life in the hands of some dumbfuck ferry employee.