Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Corea]

There was a ferry going from Incheon to Jeju today - apparently loaded with hundreds of students. It sank this afternoon.

I'd post a news link, but most of them are totally wrong. There is everything from reports of 2 dead, to hundreds.

I'm sure by the morning we'll have a more accurate look at the situation.


Really sad night for many families.

[Rofpo]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=232598

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=232595

What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start.

Seriously though isn't two threads about korean nautical prowess enough already? Do we need a third?

[Speck7]

[le-paul]

[Mix1]

This is in the current events forum as well.
Talking to my gf about it, and she said there's a lot of conflicting reports right now. I guess we'll find the truth later, but here's what she's said so far about the story, according to various Korean media reports:

1. The captain left the ship first.
2. The kids were told to stay in their seats with seat belts on and wait. Many of those that waited died but many who swam out survived. A girl messaged her father and he told her to get out of the ship, she replied she couldn't as the passageways were blocked with students waiting to be rescued.
3. Many old people survived; they said they couldn't swim so they took 3-4 life vests each, which left less for others.
4. They hit something and some kids noticed there was something wrong with the ship but there was no alarm. The boat kept getting worse so they called parents, parents called the police, and eventually the rescue boats went out.
5. The captain had steered the ship off course.

No idea how true these details are at this point or if they'll be covered up or what, but it does sound like there was some negligence involved and some of the deaths could have been avoided.

[optik404]

What I read on reddit is that the usual captain was not on board, someone else was filling in. They went off course to make up lost time due to foggy conditions. Tragic though, I'm guessing those 290 or so missing are probably dead. Unless there are air pockets down there.

[nuthatch]

http://www.nytimes.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/world/asia/south-korean-ferry-accident.html?hp

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27045512

[Scorpion]

[Weigookin74]

What is wrong with these people? I mean surely between radar and GPS, courses would have been plotted around rocks and dangerous debris. This would be true even in foggy weather. While I don't want to speak out of ignorance, this was entirely avoidable. Also, why were there not enough lifeboats on board and why were the kids told to stay put and the ones who disobeyed jumped into the water probably avoided drowning. Don't know if this country allows class action lawsuits or even puts folks in jail for breaking safety rules which I assume would have existed due to maritime law.

[Steelrails]

A couple of things-

1)If a top-heavy ship is listing and has large numbers of people, having everyone moving and running around can be...problematic at best.
2)Most ferries do not carry enough lifeboats for everyone as they operate in fresh or coastal waters and it is assumed that rescue vessels can reach them in the event of a normal emergency. Also, its awfully hard to reach and launch them when the ship has a severe list to port or starboard. Lastly, there SHOULD be a considerable number of inflatables and tubes.
3)To stay or abandon ship is difficult decision given currents, visibility, and water temperature.
4)If the rocks were charted, and failed to be accounted for, and they clearly could have been avoided, then yes, someone was negligent. If they weren't, well its pretty unlikely that it could have been seen from the bridge.

5)If the captain really did abandon ship without giving the order to abandon ship, he should be brought before a court. Negligence shouldn't warrant a hanging, and I do believe in mercy and forgiveness, but...

[Hokie21]

It took 2 hours for this ship to go under....and yet only a third of the passengers made it off the ship. Inexcusable. There is going to be hell to pay....like they might even make them bow TWICE AND pay a 10 million won fine.


A horrible, horrible event.....I don't even want to think about what those kids who were trapped in the boat had to go through.

[optik404]

[ghostrider]

My first thought was- Could North Korea have anything to do with this? It wouldn't be the first time they've sunk a ship.

[Hokie21]

[radcon]

Then there is this lovely tidbit. CNN ran a graphic explaining ocean water temps and survival times. At the same time MBC ran a graphic showing insurance payouts for the victims. Did you know that if your cell phone was ruined by the ocean you will get 200,000 won. Thanks MBC. People are still alive floating in the water and they run this. Nasty. The Korean comments at the bottom are highly negative.

http://www.slrclub.com/bbs/vx2.php?id=free&no=30863092