"How Long the Sewol Ferry..." Anonymous Chat Room Insulting Victims and Bereaved Families Sparks Controversy

'Sewolho Crew' opened in KakaoTalk open chat room
Photo by KakaoTalk

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] On the 7th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster on the 16th, as waves of memorials honoring the victims continue across the country, anonymous chat rooms insulting the Sewol ferry victims and their families have been repeatedly created online, sparking controversy.

According to Yonhap News on the 18th, a KakaoTalk open chat room named "Sewol Crew" was created the day before, displaying a photo stating "We do not mourn the Sewol ferry."

The anonymous room creator posted a notice mocking the Sewol ferry disaster and shared a photo with the phrase "Why should I mourn the Sewol ferry?" written on it.

Sewol Ferry Crew Related Open Chat Room
[Photo by KakaoTalk]

Netizens who learned of this have flocked to the room, repeatedly posting protest messages. They criticized with messages such as "The Sewol ferry incident is no joke" and "Do you even have a conscience?" while posting dozens of meaningless emoticons repeatedly or continuously posting protest messages. This is an effort to prevent conversations mocking the Sewol ferry disaster and to have the room deleted. Additionally, they continue the memorial atmosphere by posting lists of students who died in the Sewol ferry disaster as notices.

Many new open chat rooms with names like "Sewol Crew Disposal Team" and "Eradicate Sewol Crew" have also emerged in protest against this room.

On the Blue House National Petition Board, a post requesting punishment for those who created the "Sewol Crew" room has been uploaded, with over 130 people agreeing so far.