On April 16, 2014, the South Korean ferry MV Sewol, carrying 475 passengers, capsized and sank near Jindo, South Jeolla Province, en route to Jeju Island. The crew’s inadequate response and negligence led to the loss of 304 lives, mostly high school students, sparking widespread public outrage and demands for accountability and safety reforms in South Korea.

A decade later, the Korean Broadcasting System’s (KBS) decision to postpone a documentary film about the Sewol ferry tragedy on its 10th anniversary underscores the country’s ongoing struggle for truth, accountability and depoliticization of the event.

DOCUMENTARY CONTROVERSY

In Feb. 2024, the