A group of passengers about to embark a flight is intently watching the demonstration of onboard safety equipment. This interactive event was arranged by Asiana Airlines. Here’s Ahn Gyeong-won안경원 of Asiana Airlines’ Cabin Service Training Team to tell us more.

This event was started in order to demonstrate inflight safety measures, which passengers are prone to ignore, and to provide a pleasant and safe flying experience. People can see the emergency equipment and put on seatbelts and life vests. They can even learn how to perform CPR. Koreans have taken new interest in safety after the Sewol ferry tragedy. So lots of passengers coming to the airport take part in our program.



In the past couple of months, Korea saw way too many accidents – the Sewol ferry sinking, a subway train collision, a deadly fire at Goyang Bus Terminal, and a nursing home fire in Jangseong. These incidents have compelled people to pay more attention to safety issues and prompted more questions from them.

People were especially interested in CPR administration. They wanted to know how to perform CPR in case they were put in a situation to save someone’s life.

Other safety equipment present at the event included an oxygen mask, a life vest, a defibrillator, and a 25-person life boat. The participants were allowed to put on the emergency gear after listening to the crew’s explanations. It was a very meaningful experience for both passengers and crew members.

(Woman 1) I was worried about a plane crash. But now I’m a little at ease because I’ve seen these demonstrations.
(Woman 2) It was good that I took part in this event. I knew about these safety rules in theory, but couldn’t actually perform anything right, because my posture was wrong and I wasn’t strong enough. Now that I’ve really done it, I know it will come in handy.
(Woman 3) We all worry about accidents. I hope I can remain calm in an emergency.
(Woman 4) It’s nice that an airliner is voluntarily offering such interactive safety programs. The equipment here is seen only in an emergency. They’re all amazing. We have become too insensitive about safety, but an event like this makes us think about it more.

Ever since the Sewol ferry disaster, Koreans came to believe that they’re responsible for their own safety. This has led to a spike in sales of life vests, fire extinguishers and other safety products. One online shopping mall reported that, following the Sewol tragedy, its sales of safety equipment have increased 45% from the same period last year. In particular, gas and smoke detectors sold 460% more, and fire extinguishers 245% more. Koreans have witnessed what complacency and shortcuts can bring and realized the importance of being non-compromising about safety all the time.
The safety experience centers operated by Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters have seen more visitors lately. Here’s its safety instructor, Kim Chang-ho.

We get about twice as more inquiries as before. Group tours used to account for 60% of our visitors in the past, but now we get more individual visitors. We see a steady increase in the number of people coming here, but we can only admit so many of them.

There are two such locations in Seoul – one in Gwangjin-gu in northeastern Seoul and another one in Dongjak-gu south of the Han River. Gwangnaru광나루 Safety Experience Center in Gwangjin-gu, which opened in 2003, is the nation’s first interactive disaster simulation hall, and Boramae보라매 Safety Experience Center in Dongjak-gu was launched in 2010. Earthquakes, typhoons, fires, and car accidents are simulated so that people could experience these emergency situations and learn how to evacuate and perform first aid. Here’s safety instructor Kim Chang-ho of Boramae Safety Experience Center again.

Boramae Safety Experience Center is one of two disaster simulation halls in Seoul. It was opened in May 2010 and is situated within Boramae Park. Disaster response training requires not only theoretical education, but also close-to-real experiences. So this place was built to provide simulated disasters. People can be placed in disastrous situations and learn what to do in case of real emergencies.

The three-story building houses the subway accident simulation chamber in the basement, earthquake and typhoon simulations on the first floor, fire and traffic accident simulations on the second floor, and first aid demonstrations and fire-fighting training on the third floor. Visitors undergo orientation in the basement and start their interactive program from the first floor chamber with earthquake reenactments.

There are three earthquake scenarios – experiencing an earthquake from indoors, escaping from a collapsed building, and experiencing an earthquake out in the open. In the indoor earthquake setting, the floor shakes as if in a magnitude 7 earthquake. In the evacuation program people have to evacuate through a long, dark hallway in a make-believe cave-in, and an outdoor environment is created for people to experience a magnitude 5 earthquake.



Third graders from a local elementary school are all ears as they listen to the evacuation guidelines. Then they go on to experience an earthquake.

The second course involves getting out of a collapsed building. Power is out and it’s so dark that you can’t tell which way to go. What do you do in a situation like this?

Young students grope the wall with their left hands and protect their heads with their backpacks or something soft. Even when they’re doing exactly as they’re taught, they can’t help feeling frightened as they try to get out of the dark.

The children move on to the typhoon simulation chamber, where they have to face gusty winds. Here’s safety instructor Kim Chang-ho to tell us more.

In this chamber people get to feel stormy winds and rain, just like in a typhoon. For these students, we created an environment with a wind speed of 30 meters per second. That’s 108 kilometers per hour. Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines last year measured more than 370 kilometers per hour in the center. You can predict when a typhoon will come, but you can’t with an earthquake. Here, people get to experience a medium grade typhoon.

The winds inside the tunnel are stronger than anyone imagined, so the students are given strict precautions to follow. Now they are ready to enter the wind tunnel.

(Girl 1) The winds were so strong and cold and loud. I was really stunned.
(Girl 2) My clothes got all wet and cold. It was scary.
(Woman 1) The winds were stronger than I imagined. I didn’t think it would get so gusty in there. Even as a grownup I got scared. So imagine how terrified the children must have been. I wish all children could come and experience this, so they can be prepared.

The children struggle to take steps against the blustering winds and barely make it out of the wind tunnel. They are sure to remember how terrifying Mother Nature can be. Now they are off to the fire and traffic accident chamber on the second floor.

Basically, a fire drill takes place in this chamber, and children learn how to escape from a burning building.

Learning how to use a fire extinguisher is an important part of this experience. The students try to use the extinguishers themselves and put out the fire.

Next they move on to a fire simulation and find out how to safely escape the flames.

Disasters can be divided into natural ones and man-made ones, such as traffic accidents involving subway trains or buses. Accidents involving mass transportation means can be horrific. The Daegu subway arson in 2003 took the lives of some 300 passengers. Today, the young students learn how to put on gas masks in case of a subway accident. They see where gas masks are kept inside a train car. Each subway train carries 180 to 200 gas masks capable of filtering out toxic gases.



Then they climb aboard a bus that will go out of control. This sequence is meant to teach people the importance of wearing their seat belts properly.

Korea has the disgraceful title of having the highest accident-caused death rate among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members. Deadly disasters can be prevented if everyone is taught to be safety-conscious and trained in safety measures. Safety has become the nation’s buzzword in the wake of the Sewol ferry disaster. Every Korean is taking extra interest in how to keep themselves and their loved ones safe in case of an accident. But the moment we become complacent about safety, we are likely to be devastated by another calamity. So only our steady interest and efforts are going to make Korea a safer place for all.