The Ferry Sewol Part 2: Never-Ending Heartbreak

The Tragic Conclusion to the Sinking of The Ferry Sewol. On April 16, 2014 Danwon High School's 10th Grade Class was on a school trip from Incheon to Jeju aboard Chonghaejin Marine's MV Sewol. The school kids were failed by the crew, the Korean Coast Guard, the Administration of President Park Geun-Hye... this is their story.

NEWSTAPA:

▶Timestamps:
00:00 Opening Tribute
01:43 The Initial "Golden Hour" For Rescue, Wasted - Overview
03:09 Investigations Revealed Cause of List & Roll-Over
06:58 Intro to Newstapa and the Role of True, Investigative Journalism
07:47 Coast Guard Incompetence in Coordination, Communication and Chain of Command
11:11 Sewol Captain and Crew Escape Immediately onto Coast Guard Patrol Vessel
12:43 Negligent Coast Guard Units Plead Ignorance about Passengers Remaining On Board
14:32 No Attempt to Muster or Evacuate Passengers by Chonghaejin Bridge Crew
15:31 Lack of Concern for Actual Rescue Extended all The Way To Highest Levels of ROK
17:11 Sewol Ferry Floats Precariously - Rescue Potential
19:03 Jindo Gymnasium: ROK Begins False Narrative, Manipulates Loved Ones
21:40 Civilian Divers Push To Get Involved - Interview with Witness
23:55 Paengmok Harbor: More Manipulation Attempts of Loved Ones by ROK
25:09 APRIL 17 DAY 2: Undine Marine Industries Brought in by ROK Coast Guard
25:53 Prime Minister Chung and President Park Emerge at Jindo Gymnasium
27:12 APRIL 18 DAY 3: Incompetent Attempts at Floating The Ferry
28:00 USS Bonhomme Richard and All Other Outside Nations Turned Away by ROK
28:49 The Sewol Ferry Sinks Completely, Mid-Day April 18
30:00 Coast Guard Slowly Concedes and Civilian Divers Begin Harrowing Task
32:40 JULY 10: Coast Guard Makes False Platitudes Toward Proper Victim Recovery
35:34 US Proessional Divers & US Navy Divers Realize Dangerous Situation Created by ROKCG
36:59 President Park Administration Persecutes Journalists For Speaking Out
37:38 Newstapa Stood With Families; Investigating and Exposing the Real Story
38:23 OCTOBER 28: A Body Recovered Reveals Falsified Search Results
39:37 NOVEMBER 10, 2014: Victim and Search Recovery Ends
40:00 APRIL 6, 2015: President Park and ROK Announce Questionable Plans to Raise the Ferry
40:56 Newstapa Uncovers Evidence that ROK Concealed Legitimate Proposals to Raise the Ferry
42:55 The "Special Investigation Committee" of the Sewol Ferry Ends in Corruption
43:55 Loved Ones Attempt Appeal to the ROK's Humanity
44:55 Stall Tactics Used by ROK to Hide Evidence - Protection of Communications Secrets Act
45:58 The Candle-Light Vigils of 2016 and Park Guen-Hye Corruption Exposed
48:10 Plans Enacted to Raise the Ferry Immediately After Park's Impeachment
48:37 Captain Lee, Chonghaejin Crew Arrested and Sentenced
49:40 Coast Guard Disbanding, Arrests and Acquittals
50:48 March of 2017 President Park Arrested & Subsequent Sentencing
51:29 Civilian Diver Kim Gwan-Hong: Honorable, Humble, Heroic
51:54 Heroes: Park Ji-Young and engaged couple Kim Ki-Woon and Jung Hyun-Seon
52:33 MARCH 31, 2017: The Sewol Ferry is Placed on Mokpo Dock After Being Raised
53:10 In Memoriam...

▶MUSIC:
Produced by @Mors
"God Be With You Till We Meet Again" by Chris Zabriskie

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▶Special Thanks, For Helping Make Videos Like These Possible!
⭐ZACCHARY D-P
⭐PAUL R
⭐NATHAN F
⭐KAT
⭐JEREMY HEIDEN
⭐JENNY E
⭐ALEX W
⭐RYCHOTECH
⭐AMY H
⭐ANDREW T
⭐BUDI W
⭐KENYON J E
⭐LIL TONY
⭐LISA G
⭐PARKER W
⭐RACHEL E
⭐SHOKBOX
⭐SJGAUTIER
⭐E GRU
⭐HAMMONDO7 SLAYMAKER
⭐CALUM A M
⭐ERIC A
⭐SIXSTRINGEDTHING
⭐SARA E
⭐XANTHORXIII
⭐WESLEY J
⭐THEO S
⭐SUBSCRIBE SOUNDCLOUD 2
⭐SKARRY, EARTH HUMAN
⭐SELENE G
⭐SCOTT H
⭐ROWSCARA
⭐ROWAN S
⭐ROBERT M
⭐PETER S
⭐PETER F
⭐NM
⭐MG
⭐MENTLEL
⭐MATT C
⭐MASTER OF NONE
⭐LILY T
⭐LAMEEKA Y
⭐JOEL A G
⭐JADE OF ARC
⭐HILLARY C
⭐GUILHERME T
⭐FAUNTLEROY
⭐EVAN W
⭐ERIN M
⭐ERIC A
⭐EMILY M
⭐EDWARDH
⭐CHAD H
⭐BRETT
⭐BREE B
⭐BART K
⭐BAILY M
⭐ANNA K
⭐ANDREA M
⭐ROGER G
⭐RIGBY M
⭐RICHARD W
⭐PATRICK S
⭐OWEN P
⭐LYRA H
⭐LARRY M
⭐GAGE H
⭐DAVID A C
⭐DARRIEN H
⭐DANKMUS
⭐DAN S
⭐BENJAMIN F

#Maritime #SouthKorea #FreedomOfThePress

[Lyubimov]

What shocks me about this tale to no end is that the captain could’ve screamed “ABANDON SHIP”, flail his arms in the air, and immediately hop overboard… And that would’ve been *better* at saving lives than what he actually did.

[braaptribe]

This is a shining example of what an investigative documentary should entail: straightforward facts, pictures, raw footage & diagrams all in a play-by-play of the incident.

[henryandrew]

This story is so famous in Korean, I visited in 2019 and still so many people had the yellow bow pins and attached to their mobile phones. You have honoured all the victims by making sure their story is told, especially in English. This tragedy and the government cover up/failures needs to be known and your efforts in making these two videos goes a long way towards doing that. 삼가 고인의 명복을 빕니다 to all who lost their lives.

[CaptUnstoppable]

One of the worst parts is that both the US Navy and the Japanese Cost Guard were ready to go on day one but were told by ROK navy that they were not needed. If both the US and Japan could have gotten in the story would have been one of how strong the bonds were between the three countries and how many lives were saved... it just boggles me why no one asked for help, why they didn't want to get in there to save people. I really don't understand it.

[tnerbtnerb]

Can you imagine how hair tearingly frustrated the soldiers on that amphib carrier must have felt? They crewed a ship DESIGNED for emergencies like this and have training for situations like this...and due to diplomatic protocols got to watch several hundred kids suffocate and/or drown from about 300 yards away...

[jenniferbrdar]

May Mr. Kim, the one who went to find the kids and bring them home, may his soul be quieted and resting in Eternal Peace. PTSD is so brutal. He is a martyr, a hero.

[elizabethtrudgill]

I can’t even begin to imagine how the parents felt. Being told your child/children are safe only to find out they hadn't even been looked for and were still on the ferry, which was now completely under the water.
Such a heartbreaking thing to happen.

[JSwayze]

This is really hard and sad to hear. I was on the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) who was near by when this happened. We were ready and able to help. Attached to VMM 265 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft, the narrative giving to us was that everything was under control and we were not needed. It pains my heart that this was not the case at all. That we could have helped and more importantly saved the life’s of many people that did not need to die on that day.

Thank you for making this documentary, and bringing clarity to this event.

RIP to the souls lost that day.

[jonathangraham]

I spent 30 years in the US Coast Guard the majority doing Search and Rescue. If I was driving the small boats approaching the ferry I would have told the on scene commander that my crew is going aboard to check for survivors not asked for permission. Thankfully that is how the USCG trains their crews. Trained to take action. God bless the victims.

[jrmckim]

Edd Sorenson who is a world renowned cave diving rescuer offered to help. The US navy had him on stand by. He is known for his many live and body rescues from underwater caves. Many say he is the best in the world. He fuels and flies his own plane and refuses any payment. He is the definition of a Hero. Also he was on stand-by for the Thailand class stuck in the cave. And eventually had to rescue one of British divers who rescued those kids.
Philtec which are a group of rescue divers from the Philippines offeres assistance. It makes me cry thinking how those children might have thought no one cared enough. I wish we could tell that so many people around the world would have sacrificed themselves to save them.

[safe-keeper]

This 'homemade' documentary is so much more detailed and nuanced than anything professional I've seen so far. Excellent work. No sensationalism, no fancy CGI, just a detailed rundown. Thank you.

[sunshinethrutheice]

“We weren’t all rescued. I think we escaped by ourselves. [. . .] They said they were going to rescue us, and we thought they would really do so. Since they were bringing helicopters and the coast guard, we thought it wouldn’t be a big deal. But now we can‘t be with our beloved friends, and we can’t ever see them again no matter how much we miss them for the rest of our lives. What was it that we did wrong? If there was something that we did wrong, I think it was getting off the Sewol ferry alive.” [...] “We have remained silent even though we were the victims because we lacked the courage because we were afraid of being criticized as in the past. But now we intend to take courage, too. Someday, when we meet our friends once again, we hope to be able to proudly tell them that we made sure that the people who separated us from our friends were held responsible, that we made those people pay the price.”

Remarks by students who survived the sinking of the Sewol ferry at a candlelight rally held on Jan. 7, 2017

This is the same generation that was once again failed by their government during last year's Halloween crush at a popular nightlife district in Seoul, South Korea. The majority of those victims were in their 20s. The same age as those lost on the Sewol if they had survived.

[kimchipig]

For many years, I lived in Korea and worked as a university professor there. The Sewol disaster didn't surprise me, or any of my Korean friends. There is a culture of gaming the system, bribes to look the other way and a very strong Old Boys Network. In any such disaster, the first instinct of the those in authority is, "How can I can I offload responsibility?" Losing face is an enormous social ill in Korea. In this case, it was more important than the lives of children. Korea is the most Confucian culture in the world and the good kids did what they were told. The ones who disobeyed their "seniors" (sum-bae) lived.

[JHKim-rddy]

I'm a Korean myself, and it was gut-wrenching watching this amazing documentary. There's a little bit more political background information I want to share. Korean right-wing politicians and their supporters believed that protesting president Park about the incomprehensible response made on the day of sinking of Sewol was just an evil trick set by the left. During president Park's reign, pro-right journalists spread the news saying that the families of the victims got huge amounts of compensation. It made the victim's families look immoral, especially to the right-wing supporters. That is why the victim's father was crying and shouting out that he didn't need any money and compensation at 44:28. Today the right-wings repeatedly say "It's just a traffic accident. The leftists are exploiting the tragedy politically" which can be basically translated as "Shut up I don't want to hear your complaints you lefty communist". Even after the impeachment of president Park they didn't change that much. The recently-elected president Yoon's party is the same one with Park's. I wonder what will happen in the next five years...

[rachellyviasanti]

This tragedy made me think of the Costa Concordia sinking in Italy: a coward captain and some crew members left leaving passengers and rest of the crew in a desperate situation. At least the Coast guard took control of the thing coordinating the rescue operation and saving 4197 people... 32 died and it's still an unacceptable tragedy. In the Sewol disaster even the coast guard refused to act waiting for someone else to do their job. The government proudly refused help offered by US and Japan. These poor kids died because captain, crew and coast guards failed them. The worse is they could have saved all of the 304 kids. They were in the golden hours reachable and not too many to save.
The then Korean government trying to cover up his incompetence is really a no comment matter. Eternal thanks to the divers.

[ZenkaiAnkoku]

I never knew just how bad this was. This was beyond negligence, it was cruel. The crew that stayed on board were heroes.
This is the first one of your documentaries to make me cry. And I could hear it in your voice on that last line. Thank you for making these videos, and giving us the truth with respect to those affected by it. Those kids will not be forgotten.

[tommydevine]

45:58 the intensity and significance of that protest sent chills down my spine. Absolutely insane how effectively those citizens mobilized...

[armada]

South Korean here. Actually wanted to make some statements regarding the 2016 protests and the story behind them. To be honest, the Sewol Ferry itself didn't play much of a role sparking the protest(it was though, one of the major issues that were brought up, once the prtotest started), but the Sewol Ferry itself was a marking point for the public to question the government's ability to control something. The issue of corruption was brought up by another mind boggling scandal. The true cause of the protest has nothing to do with Sewol, and it really is a long story to write down. Even the president's impeachment had nothing to do with the sewol, since the constitutional court wasn't able to find good legal excuse to charge her for that.(There probably is a good word for that in English, but I'm not aware of those fancy legal vocabulary). Not trying to advocate her or anything. Was also furious about this. Just wanted to add some information at this amazing work you've done.

[mjca]

As a retired emergency services director, it's painfully obvious this incident was an epic cluster f*ck on so many levels. I'm deeply saddened by those who died and my heart goes out to all the families who lost loved ones. Thank you for posting and be safe 🙏

[gobeaugo]

At first, I wondered if breaking this story into two parts meant that it would be filled with lots of filler material. However, I discovered that every bit of information was necessary to paint the whole picture. The documentary was well done, organized, and riveting. Nice job.