Sally-Ann Marshall reports on the horror of the Sewol Ferry Disaster
Image: Sally-Ann Marshall and Cleo Brann
If you were on a sinking boat surrounded by young students on a school trip while travelling to the Isle of Man, who would you rely on — the captain and crew, the coast guard, or the government?
And how would you feel if all the people you relied on watched your boat fill with water and sink?
Most people would think this is a silly question. No government or coast guard would ever think of doing such things — it’s evil and negligent.
Unfortunately, on the 16th of April 2014, this was a reality for 14 teachers, 325 students, 29 crew members, and 100 other passengers aboard the Sewol ferry in South Korea.
The morning of the 15th of April 2014 was exciting for the students of Dawon High School as they lined up at Incheon Port, waiting to get on the Sewol ferry for their school trip to Jeju Island.
Jeju Island is often referred to as a “Korean Hawaii.” It’s southwest of mainland Korea and is a very popular place for tourists and school trips due to its beautiful beaches and cultural significance to Korean history.
The Sewol ferry was massive; it was originally a cargo ship that had been modified with rooms to accommodate passengers. 25% of its profits came from carrying passengers, 75% came from cargo, so cargo intake was heavily prioritised.
The start of the journey was fairly normal as the boat set off at 9 p.m. KST — two hours later than scheduled due to fog.
The next morning at 8:20 a.m., autopilot was turned off so the crew could manually steer through Maenggol Channel, which would have removed seven miles from their journey. This practice wasn’t uncommon for the ferry; they took this route often, as did many boats. However, it was considered unpredictable as it has one of the most rapid currents in the Korean peninsula, making it a less safe channel to travel through.
At 8:49 a.m., two crew members turned the ship 15 degrees to port. It was common knowledge to every crew member on the Sewol ferry that the ship could not turn more than 5 degrees in any direction. This was mainly due to the large amount of cargo they carried. On almost every journey, the ferry took on far more cargo than legally allowed and none of it was tied down. Because of the 15‑degree shift, around 200 vehicles slammed into the port side.
This is when reports state that the boat began to list 30 degrees to port. Some claim that at one point the ship was rolling to find balance, and it is speculated that if the boat had been up to regulation and the vehicles tied down, it might have stabilised.
However, it would never have been able to find balance due to the lack of ballast water. Ballast water sits at the bottom of most ships because every vessel needs a low centre of gravity to maximise stability.
The Sewol’s centre of gravity was at the top due to the overloaded vehicles.
As the boat listed, the engine cut out. The off‑duty captain Lee Joon‑seok and the rest of the crew ran to the bridge, trying to figure out what was happening. For the passengers, the listing would have felt comparable to turbulence — something uncomfortable but not dangerous. But the crew knew better: this ferry was going down.
Choi Duk‑ha, a student on the ferry, told emergency services that water was spilling onto the deck. By this point, the PA system was telling passengers to stay where they were, claiming it was dangerous to move.
At 9:07 a.m. the crew confirmed to authorities that the ferry was in fact sinking and that they needed the assistance of the Korean Coast Guard (KCG). The crew stated that the angle of the ship made evacuation impossible. The KCG later claimed that they were not made aware of the almost 500 passengers on board, which many believe is untrue due to the first call being made by a passenger.
The crew continued to update authorities about the situation, explaining that the ferry was listing heavily to port and, because it was taking on so much water, had rolled to the point of being nearly perpendicular to the water. They warned that it was going to continue rolling until it fully capsized.
The KCG then began giving advice to the crew, such as instructions to tell passengers to put on life jackets and informing them that a helicopter (which could hold six people) and a boat (which could hold ten people) would be sent to their location.
There are many videos and texts from the incident on YouTube.
Many of these videos depict the students on the boat coming from the deck to their rooms, telling their friends to put on life jackets while the PA system continues in the background.
At the start of these videos, the students were not crying or panicking, it was quite the opposite — they seemed confused but calm, putting their lives in the hands of the adults they trusted to save them. Slowly, you start to hear panic as the students contact their loved ones.
At this point, their legs are up against the wall to stop themselves from sliding. People were desperately looking for life vests, but there were not enough. Many of the zippers were broken; some were even made in 1994. Due to the shortages, students and other passengers were sacrificing life jackets for each other.
Meanwhile, media reports claimed that all passengers were rescued, but then they would say 200 were saved, then 100 were saved, then most of the passengers were saved. This concerned parents and caused issues with the rescue, such as delaying the arrival of volunteer divers, as many saw the reports and believed they weren’t needed.
Eventually, at 9:30 a.m., the helicopter saved six people from the deck of the boat along with the KCG raft. The first people to be saved were the captain and some of the crew. In fact, the captain went as far as dressing in civilian clothes to look like a passenger. When rescued, he made no effort whatsoever to share that he was the captain, had vital information, or that there were almost 500 people who had been told to stay in their rooms on the sinking ferry.
At 9:23 a.m. the helicopters communicated with the Blue House – the residence of the Korean government – who asked if the situation was “serious” and requested a video. This request has been heavily criticised, as time in these situations is of the essence.
The KCG proceeded to distance itself from the ferry, making no attempt to go in. They simply watched. The Blue House wasn’t going to give them any orders until they saw a video of how serious the situation was.
When the ferry started to report capsizing, the United States Navy, which was nearby, rushed to offer assistance, as they had 1,000 capable marines and the latest technology to save as many people as possible. However, the government declined. It’s not 100% clear why they rejected the assistance of the U.S. Marines, but many believe it was due to the President, Park Geun‑hye. She was known to have an ego and was very self‑conscious about international relationships, so it’s possible that in her mind, receiving help from other countries made the Republic of South Korea look weak. This rejection didn’t stop the Navy from offering help again, but they were still refused.
After a while of public services not providing any useful assistance, civilians started taking it into their own hands. Fishermen’s boats and small civilian boats — some carrying the students’ parents — risked their lives pulling up next to the capsizing ferry and dragging people who were jumping into the cold water onto their small boats. Many of these fishermen claimed it was agonising knowing there were too many children and not enough boats.
Many interviews were done with these people, and you can see how distressed they were. They couldn’t save everyone. They described kids in the ocean yelling for help, but they couldn’t pull them all out. There were too many people and not enough hands. They did as much as they could with the little resources they had, whilst the Korean Coast Guard did nothing.
Many people became heroes for these kids. Not all crew members left the boat when they had the chance. The youngest crew member was Park Ji‑young. She was 22 when the boat sank — barely older than the students. She was one of the first crew members who could have escaped, as she was on the deck when the ferry started to list. However, she heard the kids screaming and the PA system telling them to stay put, so she chose to stay, even giving her life jacket to a younger passenger. Park ran through the halls, yelling at students to evacuate. She grabbed people from their rooms and the halls and pushed them into the water to be saved by the small boats, guiding around 50 students to safety. A survivor remembers grabbing her arm and telling her she had to jump. The water in the boat was chest‑level, and the student told her she would hold her afloat since she had no life jacket. Park said she had to save the rest of them and then she would leave.
The last time she was seen, she was going back into the boat to save others. She was later found face‑down, still without a life jacket.
The two other part‑time crew members also could have escaped, yet they stayed out of duty toward the passengers on the boat. They have since been recognised as national martyrs for their heroic actions.
Day two arrived and the ferry continued sinking. It became increasingly apparent that this was no longer a rescue mission but a recovery operation.
Volunteer divers continued to risk their lives with the hope of finding survivors. At this point it was undeniable that the KCG was not adequately equipped to handle a disaster of this scale. Reports later revealed that the KCG had not conducted sufficient rescue drills for an incident this severe, and their limited resources were stretched thin.
Meanwhile, the role of the Korean government and President Park Geun‑hye came under scrutiny. The government was criticised for not deploying available resources quickly enough and for not accepting immediate foreign assistance on the first day or further assistance on the second, which could have potentially saved everyone on the ferry.
This reluctance to accept outside help was seen by many as a sign of detrimental patriotism — the pride of the nation was prioritised over the lives of the passengers.
Many divers spoke to the Korea Centre for Investigative Journalism Newstapa. They worked directly with the families and other volunteer rescuers after the bodies started to be recovered. Choi Duk‑ha’s body was found. His parents were confused why they didn’t get a call for him, as they were close to the coast. Everyone was texting their family, telling them how much they loved them, how they didn’t want to die, and how scared they were but his parents got nothing. Emergency services later told his parents that he was the one on the call with them the entire time, giving information about the situation of the ferry. His family later told Newstapa, “It made sense. We are just so proud of him. We think God brought our boy into the world for this purpose — to try and save people.”
Due to the boat owners’ greed, the government’s pride, and the Coast Guard’s lack of training, 304 people lost their lives — 250 being students — and the victims are estimated to have been as young as seven.
This tragedy had long‑lasting effects on the whole country of Korea. In the weeks following the disaster, a memorial was held at Dawon High School. The halls were filled with flowers and photographs. It was devastating to the community, and the headteacher was overwhelmed with guilt for losing so many students. He tragically took his own life.
In the wake of these events, consequences extended beyond the families and friends of the victims. The Korean Coast Guard faced intense scrutiny for their mishandling of the rescue. The organisation was disbanded and reorganised — a direct acknowledgement of their failures. This situation also led to public outrage directed towards the government, which contributed to the president’s impeachment.
There were also legal repercussions. The off‑duty captain of the boat was sentenced to 36 years in prison for gross negligence and abandonment. The de facto owner of the vessel was accused of severe negligence in the management of the ferry. He became a wanted man in South Korea, sparking a nationwide manhunt. Ultimately, he was found dead under suspicious circumstances in July of 2014.
The story of the Sewol ferry matters because it forces us to confront an uncomfortable but necessary truth: disasters are not always accidents, sometimes they are the result of choices made by people in power who valued pride, image, or profit more than human life. The country was forced to look at itself — at its culture of obedience that kept so many passengers waiting in their rooms and the nation of Korea demanded that no child should ever be told to “stay where you are” again while the world watches them drown.
