"Questions, bravado, panic aboard sinking Korean ferry" by Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times May 01, 2014
SEOUL — As a ferry with 476 people was badly listing off the southwestern coast of South Korea two weeks ago, one of the students on board asked, “Are we becoming a Titanic?”
“This is fun!” another shouted, apparently not realizing that the ferry would soon capsize and sink.
In the background of videos recovered from the cellphones of passengers aboard the ferry Sewol, a voice can be heard over the ship’s intercom urging students and their teachers to stay put, telling them they are safer where they are.
But as the ship continued to tip and the voice over the intercom repeated the same instructions, panic spread. Some passengers apparently sensed the approaching doom, and sent farewells to their families.
“This looks like the end!” a boy shouted into at a smartphone held by one of his classmates, Park Su-hyeon.
Before he could finish, another boy cut in: “Mom, Dad, I love you.”
That is bringing up old feelings.
The young passengers were among 325 second-year high school students on board the 6,825-ton ferry, which sank April 16.
After Su-hyeon, 17, was found dead, the police returned the boy’s recovered personal items to his family, who discovered the video footage on his phone. This week, his father, Park Jong-dae, released the video, saying that South Koreans must watch it to learn what went wrong.
Prosecutors in South Korea now say that a ferry captain told investigators that the owners of the sunken ferry had ignored his warning that the ship shouldn’t carry too much cargo because it wasn’t very stable.
The captain was not on board the ship on the day of the sinking because he was on vacation. Instead, the ferry was piloted by a substitute captain, who’s been detained along with 14 other crew members.
A stability test report in January showed that the ferry became less stable after a modification more than a year ago that involved adding more cabins in some of the ship’s floors.
Divers have recovered 212 bodies from the wreckage. They again fought strong currents and floating debris inside the ship today as they searched for 90 passengers still missing.
Among the text messages, photos, and video clips that have been produced by passengers of the ill-fated ship, Su-hyeon’s 15-minute footage bears the most dramatic witness to the panic and fear, as well as youthful naïveté and optimism, of the students trapped inside the ship.
“This is by far the most heartbreaking scene I have seen in my 27-year broadcasting career,” said Choi Seung-ho, a veteran television producer, when he introduced the footage on Newstapa, a website run by the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism.
The footage was edited to blur the faces of the students, and the students whose voices were captured were not identified. But the videos show how students who followed the crew’s instructions were trapped while many of the crew members, including the captain, were among the first to desert their vessel.
Su-hyeon’s video begins at 8:52 a.m. April 16. That was three minutes before the ferry sent its first distress signal.
“The ship is leaning!” one passenger can be heard saying.
“Help me!” another said, sounding almost as if it were part of a youthful prank.
As students felt the ship shudder and wondered whether it was sinking, a crew member was heard on the intercom, urging students to stay put.
“Nonsense!” one student shouted. Another said: “I want to get off. I mean it.”
Some of the male students appeared to hide their growing fear with jokes and uneasy laughs. One student said, “We are going to make news with this.” Another said, “This is going to be a lot of fun if we get it onto our Facebook.”
At 8:57, as another announcement from the crew advised “please never move,” one student said: “Should I call Mom? Mom, this looks like the end of me.”
After a 2½-minute break, the video resumed at 9:00, when at least one student could be heard saying he was getting out. Students began passing one another life jackets.
One student gave his life jacket to a classmate who could not find one.
“What about you?” the classmate asked.
“Don’t worry,” his friend responded. “I will get one for myself.”
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"S. Korea leader apologizes for ferry disaster" by Choe Sang-Hun | New York Times April 30, 2014
SEOUL — Under mounting public pressure, President Park Geun-hye apologized Tuesday for failing to prevent a ferry disaster that left 302 people dead....
It was a humbling moment for Park. Ever since she took office in February 2013, Park has built a reputation for her steely leadership in the face of military threats from North Korea. But the political opposition has often accused her of being an imperious leader.
Park got a stinging taste of anger from the grieving families....
According to video footage, the first government rescue boats to arrive at the ferry helped the captain and other crew members off the ship, while hundreds of passengers remained trapped.
Look, it's an elites world now. Stop complaining.
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"North Korea lobs shells near disputed sea border" by CHOE SANG-HUN | New York Times April 30, 2014
SEOUL — The North Korean military fired dozens of artillery shells Tuesday near a disputed western sea border with South Korea, prompting thousands of South Korean islanders to flee to shelters.
Earlier Tuesday, North Korea told the South that it had designated two firing zones near the Northern Limit Line, which South Korea defends as a western sea demarcation line. North Korea claims a border line farther south.
North Korea subsequently fired about 50 rounds of artillery, but none were believed to have fallen south of the disputed maritime border.
So this is much ado about nothing. The North gave a warning and kept it within recognized territory. The South Koreans were put through a psyop and my propaganda pre$$ gets to holler war.
The waters around the disputed sea border remain the most volatile section of the inter-Korean frontier and have been the scene of several naval skirmishes between the two Koreas in recent years. South Korea’s military increased its vigilance Tuesday.
North Korea conducted similar drills in the region on March 31, firing more than 500 rounds of artillery and rockets. South Korean marines fired back, lobbing 300 rounds of artillery north of the line.
North Korea’s live-fire drills followed its harsh criticism of a summit between President Obama and his South Korean counterpart, Park Geun-hye, in Seoul on Friday. After their meeting, the two leaders pledged to impose more sanctions if the North conducted another nuclear test. They also promised to pressure the North Korean government over its human rights abuses.
See: Korean Coverage No Ferry
On Sunday, the North lashed out, calling Park “a dirty prostitute” in thrall to the “pimp” Obama.
South Korean officials and US think tanks have reported increased activities at an underground nuclear test site in Punggye-ri in North Korea.
Pffft!
Think about that for a minute....
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You can scroll through the Korean coverage if you want to see the ship go down; as for the possible plane wreckage.... no sign of a thing, wait, I think I just saw a blip.
