Tragic video shows joking students on South Korea ferry

I was once on a cruise ship that had planned a "Titanic Night". Another fellow passenger pointed out to the organizers what an extremely tasteless idea it was and the event was cancelled.

I guess we can expect to know/learn a lot more about incidents like this one from now on thanks to everyone having the ability to record events as they happen. Those poor passengers.

The burden of responsibility for this tragedy goes right UP the line and stops at Pres. Park. . . .It isn't just the captain who is delinquent in his duties - the tardy and confused response from the coast guard ( the Chief Officer a Park appointee),, the ships lack of sea-worthiness regarding emergency readiness ( eg life boats),, the breach of regulation tonnage vis a vis vehicles and containers, plus the fact that containers were not secured properly - not to mention the 3 mate at helm ( violating International rules) . . all contributed to this terrible event. . .

These were kids, alive and joking around, being told to remain while the crew scrambled to save their own lives. Now those kids are all dead, making their last words, jokes or not, all the more horribly poignant. Those responsible need prison for life, times the number of victims. RIP to all those lost.

This makes me sick, the crew told the kids to stay where they are and just left the boat. It's paramount to using them as human shields.

The announcer apparently did not leave the boat. He nearly went under with it i believe.

But i still dont understand WHY they kept saying not to move. The boat was past the point of no return from very early on. There was NO chance they would be able to get out the more it listed. Yet they were specifically told not to get out to an easy to alight location. I would expect that the first step would be to get everyone out into an open area, near the lifeboats (which were not used)

It is sickening. At the very least they should have been told to wait on the deck.

The mental difference between "children" and "adults" --> sadly you see this same phenomenon in people that are far older than these teens. ==> Most "adults" escaped (some were teens) and most of the "children" perished.

badsey: "The mental difference between "children" and "adults"

I suppose if they had been 'rebellious' and ignored the demands to stay where they were you'd be saying the same thing. The fact is, the 'adults' told them to stay put while they bailed in a panic, and the kids died following the adults' instructions. So, really, who are the children?

afanofjapan: "But i still dont understand WHY they kept saying not to move. The boat was past the point of no return from very early on. There was NO chance they would be able to get out the more it listed."

Pure and simple panic and ineptitude. There is precedence, to a certain extent, in asking people to keep to their locations, but you're correct that once the boat listed to a certain point it was far too late, and I think the fact that it was too late and the captain and co bailing was proof they were just hoping for the best but not willing to do anything. Absolutely horrifying. I cannot imagine what these kids went through... I'm speechless.

I suppose if they had been 'rebellious' and ignored the demands to stay where they were you'd be saying the same thing. The fact is, the 'adults' told them to stay put while they bailed in a panic, and the kids died following the adults' instructions. So, really, who are the children?

Because Korea has a culture of obedience so following authority without question is the norm. It highlights deeper issues about the culture of Korea as a hyper competitive and money orientated society.

Die Intellectual: "Because Korea has a culture of obedience so following authority without question is the norm."

Leave it to people like yourself to come on here and spew hate about a nation and its politics in the wake of a horrible disaster. Perhaps you might want to explain about the Japanese mentality that lead to an extremely late response with Fukushima? Nah! That would be the pot calling the kettle black, and we don't want that, do we? It's pathetic that you would take a tragedy like this for your hatred.