Dancing Jeju Air crew stir backlash in South Korea: ‘the funerals were recent'

South China Morning Post

3 days ago

A video of dancing crew members from
South Korean airline Jeju Air has led to online criticisms of tone deafness, with social media users noting that it is too soon for such lighthearted clips after the crash that
killed 179 people in December.
The 10-second video, titled 'Feisty Flight Attendants' and uploaded on the airline's official social media channel on July 11, showed three smiling crew members dancing, jumping and flashing V-signs. By Tuesday afternoon, it had garnered 2.2 million views and more than 200,000 likes.
However, not everybody was impressed. 'How long has it been since the Muan accident?' one user asked, according to Seoul Economic Daily newspaper. 'It's only been half a year since the accident, so we need at least a year of mourning.'
On December 29, Jeju Air Flight 2216 issued a mayday before attempting to land on its belly at Muan Airport. It overran the runway at high speed and
struck a concrete-reinforced berm , killing all but two of the 181 people on board. It was the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil.
'It took a long time to recover the bodies and confirm their identities. The funerals were recent. Wouldn't it be upsetting to see this if it were your family?' another user said, according to Korea JoongAng Daily newspaper.
Others, however, defended the crew members in the clip, saying they did nothing wrong. 'Did the flight attendants or first officer cause the accident?' one asked.