In 2014, the Se-wol ferry sank off Korea’s coast and more than three-hundred people, mostly high school students on a school trip, lost their lives. Many Koreans thought it was more than a simple accident. Rather, it was a disaster that symbolized the structural problems of Korean society: a lack of responsibility from the leaders, a tendency to not abide by rules and an atmosphere that puts monetary gain before humanity and lives.
At the 5th anniversary of the disaster, six Korean theatre directors produced their own plays in an effort to understand the reasons why such disasters seem continually repeated.
Theatre director, Youn Hye Sook, produced a performance ‘Bhopal. 1984’ on the theme of ‘industrial accidents’ with a focus on the Bhopal Disaster:
We want to talk about “Bhopal disaster” which resembles “Se-wol ferry disaster”, and to create a new work to suit the situation in Korea. We want our audience to know about the Bhopal disaster, supporting people in India who are still fighting for justice.
The play ran for ten consecutive days and closed with a slide show of images provided by the Bhopal Medical Appeal.
