[KS] Seeking Panelists, AAS 2015, Sewol Ferry Disaster

[CedarBough T. Saeji]

Is anyone prepared to join a last minute panel on Sewol for AAS 2015 in
Chicago?

We currently have two panelists, and are ideally seeking two more
panelists. The tentative abstracts follow this message.

Thank you for your consideration,
CedarBough T. Saeji


---------------------------------

Panel Title:

Korean Society and the Sewol Ferry Disaster (tentative)



The 16th of April 2014 will be remembered as the worst maritime disaster in
Korean history. The Sewol ferry bound for Jeju Island capsized. The
accident and mismanaged emergency response caused the deaths of over 300
people, the majority of them Daewon High School students. In the days and
months following the Sewol disaster Koreans reacted with deep collective
sadness and anger that was expressed in unique and diverse ways.



This panel explores how Korean society responded to this tragedy, how
mourning was expressed and the reasons for the ongoing related protests.
Focusing on social movement and the art of performance we aim to shed the
light on the response to the disaster that has collectively devastated
Korean society for months.











*Paper 1:*

Lina Koleilat

Doctoral Candidate in Korean History

College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University



*Social movement in the wake of the Sewol Ferry disaster:*

*Catholic mass, protest and candlelight vigil**s*

The Sewol incident of the 16th of April 2014 has triggered a wave of social
movements across South Korea. Civil society, religious groups and Family of
Victims' Committee are holding ongoing protests to pray for the victims and
the return of the missing. Additionally, this movement aims to pressure the
government with a list of demands focusing on the enactment of a Sewol
special law that enables a thorough and independent investigation of the
causes of the sinking and the failure of the rescue operation. Amongst
religious protesters, Catholic priests, nuns and lay believers have been
particularly active in organizing a weekly mass on Mondays in central Seoul
for months. Since the 15th of July 2014, when the victims’ families
submitted the petition for the Sewol special law to the National Assembly,
a daily Catholic mass has been organized in front of the National Assembly
building in Yeoido in solidarity. From the date of the submission of the
petition, the Catholic presence, supported by Bishops from around the
country, has been prominent at the shelter tents that are housing the
victims’ family members who are on hunger strike in central Gwanghwamun. In
this paper I investigate protest techniques and motives to answer why and
how these specific Catholic groups are distinctively participating in the
Sewol movement. Using ethnographic data and on the ground interviews, this
paper locates the Sewol protests in the wider scene of current social
movements in South Korea, with a specific focus on Catholic engagement and
activism.





*Paper 2:*

CedarBough T. Saeji

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Asst. Professor of Korean Studies



*Yellow Ribbons:*

*The Performance of Grief in the Wake of the Sewol Ferry Disaster*



In this paper I examine the performance of grief in the wake of the April 16
th, 2014 sinking of the Jeju Island bound Sewol Ferry. Grief, generally a
private affair, became rapidly and explicitly public across the nation as
the scope of the tragedy sank in. As hope of survivors faded, a
collectively held breath was exhaled and the early semblance of unity in
the face of disaster devolved—while those close to the deceased remained
embroiled in grief (and anger); politicians, public servants, and pundits
engaged in accusations and blame slinging, and the rest of the population
decorated their jaded distrust of the government in yellow ribbons. Here I
explore the ways that the behavior of people with no personal connection to
the tragedy was regulated by the collective experience of grief. People
felt obligated to perform grief through changing profile images on social
media, visiting the organized sites for mourning and hanging ribbons,
regulating their self-presentation, or cancelling and modifying events
incongruent with the national mood. The existence of and response to this
social pressure parallels other collective expressions of nationalism in
Korea, the yellow ribbon echoes the "Be the Reds" t-shirt of the 2002 World
Cup, yet with a distinct undercurrent of anger at rather than pride in the
nation. Employing media analysis, interviews, and observation at events
designed or modified to express grief, this paper seeks to understand this
national performance of grief.



-- 
CedarBough T. Saeji
Assistant Professor of Korean Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
(우) 449-791 경기도 용인시 처인구 모현면 외대로 81 오르비스빌딩 703호
ORBIS Building #703, 81 Oedae-ro, Mohyeon-myeon, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si,
Gyeonggi-do, Korea 449-791
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