[KS] Special Screening & Talk on the Sewol Ferry Tragedy: 'Sewol: Years in the Wind' (2024) & ‘Everyone Has Their Own Story of Sewol’: Sewol Disaster, Ineffability, and the Affects of Activism

[Charlotte Hammond]

Dear all,

You are warmly invited to the following Distinguished Lecture Series
Special Event held by the Scottish Centre for Korean Studies on Wednesday
9th of April at *1:00pm.*


*Scottish Centre for Korean Studies*
* Distinguished Lecture Series*
*Special Screening & Talk*

[image: Anger runs deep in South Korea a year after ferry tragedy | World
News - Hindustan Times]

*'Sewol: Years in the Wind' (2024) *
*dir. Moon Jongtaek, Kim Hwantae*
*&*
*‘Everyone Has Their Own Story of Sewol’: Sewol Disaster, Ineffability, and
the Affects of Activism*
*Sera Park*
(University of St Andrews)

*Wednesday 9th April*
*1300-1630*
*Screening Room, 50 George Square*
*University of Edinburgh*


*Film synopsis: *After Korean society faced the Sewol Ferry Disaster on
April 16th, 2014, people gathered in the square with the wish to "Reveal
the truth." Ten years flies, years in the wind, the truth behind the
disaster remains undisclosed. Families of victims so-called 'Sewol
Families' have been advocating for the truth of that day and walking to
build a safe society, but there is a recurring wave of tragedies and hatred
towards them.

We remember that square, those precious memories we shouted together.
Because we believe in the power of those precious memories. Hoping
earnestly that the pain experienced by the Sewol families will not be
repeated on to the next generation, we call our memories and aspirations.
'Sewol: Years in the Wind' is about the struggle for institutional
improvement and building a safe society. Through reflecting on the journey
the Sewol Families have walked, we hope our society can take small but
significant steps forward.

*Talk abstract: *Based on 15 months of ethnographic fieldwork among
families bereaved by the Sewol Disaster and allied activists, who have been
calling for investigation, accountability, and memorialization, this talk
considers what sustains an activist movement in the absence of full
comprehension. I focus on how the ineffability of the event, as told by my
interlocutors, contrasts with, and eludes the neat categorization seen in
social science scholarship in the wake of Sewol. In reading the Disaster as
an event of both poetic density and opacity, I consider activism post-Sewol
as first and foremost driven by affective experience and commitment.

*Biographies: *

*Moon Jongtaek* (Ji-seong's Dad / Streamer of '4.16 TV' Youtube channel).
>From the summer of 2014, Moon started running a YouTube channel called
'4.16 TV' to document the voices of the families who suffered from the
Sewol Ferry Disaster. He produced numerous archive videos for eight years.
*Kim Hwantae* (the previous chairman of 416act Media Committee (fourth
period)) is the director of Docustory. Based on his interest in issues of
reversal, peace, and minority rights, he produces documentary films.
*Sera Yeong Seo Park* is Associate Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the
University of St Andrews. Her doctoral research (University of Cambridge,
2018-2022) examined the collective mourning and social movement that
emerged in the aftermath of the Sewol Ferry Disaster in South Korea. Her
research interests include social movements and activism, the moral
dimensions of social life, and emotions and affect.


The event is in-person and *free* to attend. *Registration is required* as
capacity is limited. Please book via the following link and select the
appropriate add-on:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/special-screening-distinguished-lecture-tickets-1297369229289?aff=oddtdtcreator



We look forward to seeing you there.

Best wishes,
Charlotte Hammond

PhD candidate in Korean Studies
Administrative Assistant, Scottish Centre for Korean Studies, University of
Edinburgh
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