Comments by "HKim0072" (@HKim0072) on "🎗Meeting a survivor from S. Korea’s biggest maritime disaster: Sewol Ferry Tragedy" video.

Korea’s system is very hierarchical. Should a low level person be punished for his / her whole life when it wasn’t their responsibility? Seems a bit harsh.
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I think it’s fair to comment on cultural differences that played a role in students listening to authority figures in Korea. There is zero chance as a high school kid that I’m hanging out in the bottom of a ship that is titling. In the US, we learn to challenge authority, critical think and make decisions at a young age. No one is blaming the kids.
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@matchachoc I don't think you are familiar with Korean culture. And the power that superiors hold over you. Lower level people are not allowed to think or act on their own.
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@matchachoc I'm Korean. The Sewol is a tragedy and it sucks. I still believe in fairness in punishment. The punishment for lower level people should not be equitable to the higher ranks. Every society has its pros and cons.
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@nekowafer4017 Listening to authority and respecting elders is something that is ingrained into Korean culture for over 1,000 years. It's not going to change. Why do people twist words for fit their own opinions? Explaining how things work isn't the same thing as an "excuse" or deflecting blame. It's a method of understanding why things happen. People rarely do drugs in Korea and everyone tries drugs in the states. Should Korea be able to dictate to the US why drugs are bad? No, its a societal difference and helps people understand different cultures.
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@tidi4898 I'm talking about cultural differences of 2 countries: US vs Korea. Are you from either? I'm from both. Born in Korea and raised in the states. Why do people feel like they are experts in other countries? It's very odd. Let me get this clear: we aren't raised to respect authority in the US. We are bombarded with challenging the norms and doing stupid stuff. These are the things we did in before 9th grade: cut school, roamed mountains without parents, vandalism for fun, smoked cigs, drank alcohol, tried weed, egged houses, threw snowballs at cars, sneak out at night when staying over a friends house (and this is the stuff I remember). And we grew up in the suburbs of an East coast city and were in the top 20% of our class grade wise. In Korea, no one does this kind of stuff unless you are a troubled kid. Its just not part of their norms to challenge authority blatantly. ( Oh yeah, I've actually taken a ferry from Incheon port.)
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@miri283 Correct. The US has a bunch of dumbass people, but when it comes to experiences, people in the US are way less sheltered than people in Korea. There is much more person to person interaction in non-school settings. Sports, clubs, part-time jobs etc. In Korea, you just study. More experiences help you "critically" think in unfamiliar situations. Social media has somewhat destroyed this in the past 5+ years though.
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@luminousmiu Actually, I have been on a ferry from Incheon port. Most of my relatives that live in Korea live in Incheon. And I've been on several ferries in the States. And yes, I always planned my escape route if something went wrong. I'm not a good example. We never trusted our teachers in high school and did a lot of things outside the boundaries.
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@germanshepherd6638 Korea does do this. The CEO committed suicide before he could be arrested.
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@neverlandforlife7868 Have you served in the military? If so, then you'll understand the culture of Korean hierarchy a bit better than arguing on YouTube comments.
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@tonyhwang3888 Seamanship may infer that it was a navigation issue. The main issue was an overloaded ship combined with an intentionally reduced ballast. Also, the illegal deck modifications that added weight were an issue.
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@robertb27 The captain got life in prison. Lower level people got lesser sentences. The owner of the boating company committed suicide. All seem appropriate.
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@ReflectedMiles You need to do some more research on what happened. They know exactly went wrong and why the ship capsized. The drug comment was to explain societal differences of different sovereign nations.
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@BloodNote Actually, I'm hyper-rational. Unlike many commenters here, I'm emotionally detached from the situation and commenting without bias.
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@ReflectedMiles This article is by the Seoul Bureau chief of the NYT. It not only lays out what happened, but issues still happening. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/10/world/asia/sewol-ferry-accident.html
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babydoll Our teachers told us not to skip classes in high school, but we did it anyway. Again, my point is there are societal differences. It's the sole reason why the US is so good at developing new technologies. We are independent thinkers. And to our downfall and downside, its why covid has run rampant and people believe in conspiracies theories.
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@robertlim85 Seems like you speak English well. I'll give a popular western analysis then. Malcolm Gladwell had this specific example in Outliers about Korean Air pilots. Go research and then we can have this same conversation.
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@yomino7870 Are you Korean or American?
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@yomino7870 lol, I'm going to infer you aren't American or Korean. Dude - go comment on your own culture somewhere else if you don't want to have a constructive conversation.
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Unfortunately, Korea’s culture of respecting authority / older people was a big hinderance for the kids. In the US, (1) we all saw Titanic and you always go to the deck (2) we are fiercely independent and wouldn’t have listened when they said stay where you are. Weirdly, I’ve taken a ferry from Incheon port. Wasn’t a big ship though and was to one of the smaller islands close by.
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