Why are MIRAE’s Lien and Junhyuk being criticized? Weverse photo filter controversy related to Sewol Ferry Tragedy explained

MIRAE’s Lien and Junhyuk got into troubled waters after the former uploaded a controversial post on Weverse on April 16 and the latter attempted to joke around. The day he made the post on Weverse marks the anniversary of the Sewol Ferry Tragedy. The Japanese singer posted a photo using the flood filter and joked about his company needing to move venues.

The Sewol Ferry Tragedy is considered South Korea’s biggest maritime disaster. The incident occurred on the morning of April 16, 2014, when the Sewol ferry capsized, killing 306 out of the 476 people on board.

The majority of the people on board were high school students who were on a trip to Jeju Island. Since then, April 16 has been termed National Morning Day in remembrance of the young lives lost.

MIRAE debuted with seven members, Lien, Junhyuk, Douhyun, Khael, Dongpyo, Siyoung, and Yubin, in March 2021.

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MIRAE’s Lien and Junhyuk's now-deleted Weverse post considered ignorant as he jokes around with flood filter on the 9th anniversary of the Sewol Ferry Tragedy

Although MIRAE’s Lien deleted the post, screenshots of his Weverse post on April 16 went viral on Twitter a day later. One Korean netizen, @miraeridicule, tweeted the pictures and said that ignorance is a sin too.

“It's the 9th anniversary of the Sewol Ferry, but who is the idol who dares to use filters like this? Who is the idol who laughs and ridicules normal filters as if they were submerged and asked to save them?? Ignorance is a sin.”

The tweet included screenshots of the post by MIRAE’s Lien and his comments under it. The picture was of a room in the company’s building with a water flood filter. In the caption, the idol wrote:

“The reason why our company needs to move soon.”

In the comment section of MIRAE’s Lien's post, his group mate, Junhyuk, added “Save me” and the Korean alphabet ‘ㅋ’ which denotes laughter.

The now-deleted post that MIRAE's Lien uploaded on Weverse (Image via Twitter/miraeridicule)

While the post could have been taken as a joke any other day, the way MIRAE’s Lien and Junhyuk intended it to be, it backfired due to a serious reason. The idol uploaded the post on April 16, the day that marks remembrance of the tragic Sewol Ferry accident that left 306 dead, the majority of them high school students.

For MIRAE’s Lien to then unknowingly use a flood filter for a Weverse post and Junhyuk to joke about rescue was deemed tone-deaf by Korean netizens.

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The Sewol Ferry Tragedy led to nationwide social and political protests

This year, South Korea observed the ninth anniversary of the Sewol Ferry Tragedy. The tragic incident occurred on the morning of April 16, 2014, when the Sewol ferry headed towards Jeju Island.

The Sewol Ferry Tragedy led to nationwide social and political protests. Investigations revealed several factors, such as an illegal amount of cargo boarding, delayed rescue operations, and the captain, along with his crewmates, abandoning the ship at the first sign of trouble, as the cause of the ship capsizing.

The disaster left 306 out of the 476 people on the ship dead. Out of the people who died, approximately 250 were high school students.

Park Guen-hye, the South Korean president at the time, was heavily criticized for her response to the disaster. The ship’s captain, Lee Joon-seok, as well as his crewmates were also bashed for leaving the people onboard to fend for themselves and abandoning the ferry.

Every year, South Koreans hold a memorial ceremony in remembrance of the many lives lost in the Sewol Ferry Tragedy. Yellow ribbons also play a key role in it.

At the time of the tragedy, yellow-colored ribbons were used extensively by people to symbolize hopes for the passengers’ safe return. Their significance ultimately evolved into activism, political resistance, and a sign of remembrance.