It was the place of the worst airline catastrophe on South Korean soil. Now the terminal at the Muan International Airport serves as a common center for bereaved relatives 179 people who have failed in the collision. Families gather here to talk, eating together – some even stay in tents overnight.
Families are in this cavernous building in the southwest of South Korea waited Impatient for news after Jeju Air Flight 7c2216 demolished On December 29. Then they came to tears and outbursts of anger while the officers occasionally read the names of the dead, many identified by DNA tests.
“We are family now,” said the son of Joo-Taek, who lost his son in the accident and was among the 20 people sitting around a series of folding tables that held water and snacks on Saturday. “People here understand what others just can’t.”
Recently, the conversation between some bereaved families has turned to the action: they want to discover what caused the fall. The Jet Koji mostly took home home from a trip to Thailand at the end of the year-he moved to the runway and accelerated until he hit the concrete beng and exploded into the flames, leaving only two survivors.
The relatives of the killed say they are not satisfied with the move of information from officials and refusing to release the record, including transcripts from the control tower. They want to know more about bird strike reports a few minutes before landing, how the jet broke without its ground equipment and why the Berm that hit was not designed to give a place.
In despair, some turned to books and videos to find out about the safety of aircraft, including how flight recorders, air traffic controllers, localisers and jet engines work. They also look at the airport design.
“The first priority of the family is to get the truth,” said the son of Ha-yang, the daughter of Mr. Son, at the airport where her brother and his girlfriend were killed. “Otherwise, we only rely on investigators who often use jargon.”
Mrs. Son, who took about three months from her job in Seoul, said she felt the need to read Boeing’s manuals and airlines, and studied expressions that had not meant anything to her before: Cvr, fdr,, Icao She was in contact with other relatives who also said they wanted to find out more about what could go wrong.
The South Korean authorities announced that it could take more than a year to have an investigation, which he faced obstacles who frustrated the families. Among them: flight records of jet stopped in the last four minutes of flight.
“Families want to know why their loved ones have died,” said Park Cheol, a family lawyer. “They also believe that, studying, they strive for those who died.”
Some relatives caused officials at meetings during a collision. They say they are concerned that there are not enough people who explore the cause, compared to cases in the United States. Even the authorities did not approach their request for release communication from the control tower at the time of the collision.
South Korea’s Ministry of Transport in a statement said the investigating body was talking to the authorities to increase the number of investigators. The Ministry also considered providing transcript of communication for air traffic control, although they were not usually published to the public, it is said.
Kim Yu-Jin watched videos on YouTube and read books about past aviation disasters since her parents and her brother died in a collision. She watched the safety features that have aircraft when eating in an emergency.
In the cafe of Mrs. Kim, in the southern county Jangheung, her mother Jung Sun-Suk was a barista and helped with packages. Her father, Kim Deok-Win, helped the transportation of strawberries and milk and planned to expand his 350-square-foot trade.
She said her parents also helped raise their four children. After the collision, she temporarily closed the cafe to focus on her children and carry sadness.
“Everything has a touch of my parents,” she said. “There are traces everywhere.”
After losing his son and daughter-in-law, Lee Jung-Keun focused his personal research on one specific factor: concrete berm. Most airports around the world have no similar structures They are so close to the runway, and when they do, they are made of more fragile materials that were supposed to break after the impact, experts said.
Mr. Lee examined the internet for information about Berm and became convinced that it was the biggest factor in many deaths.
“If it wasn’t for a berm, almost everyone would survive,” he said during a visit to the airport with his wife Lee Mi-Jung.
His son Jae-Hyek and the wife of a younger man Tae ari shared a love of fishing and got married in 2020. They planned to start a family, and the private mathematical academy of Mrs. Tae in the southwestern County Haenam was doing well, said Mrs. Lee.
The couple did not plan to visit Thailand. But the Last-minute offer of the passenger agency coincided with their wedding anniversary, Mr. Lee said.
Arriving in the airport is a way for some families to find a sense of community when their homes are now defined by absence. Others are kept away from the airport, fearing that memories will be too painful or limited by work.
The collision left Lee Bong-Kyung with a combat shipyard in the southwestern city of Mokpo, founded by his father in 2015. The sale has failed in recent years, and Mr. Lee said that his father’s work ethics had maintained his life: “All he knew was a job,” he said.
When Mr. Lee started working at the shipyard about six years ago, it gave her father more free time. The elder Mr. Lee traveled to Bangkok with a group of childhood friends. His death left his son demolished personally and professionally.
“We also have a lot of debt and loan loans, so I thought about giving up several times,” he said.
The experience of many bereaved families – isolation from friends and colleagues, solidarity with relatives of other victims and distrust of government – echoes the consequences of other disasters in South Korea, including The 2014 Swallol ferry sinking ia The crowds crushed in Seoul 2022.
Lee Jeong-Bok and his wife Jeong Hyeon-Kyeong mourning another young victim. Their daughter Mina died after traveling with a friend in high school. She was in the second year at her first job outside the college.
From the collision, three other children of Mrs. Lee help parents, like a meal. “They matured quickly,” she said.
Mr. Lee said that he and his wife were planning to stay at the airport until the cause of the collision came out. “The investigation must be thorough and objective,” he said. “There will be responsibility and consequences.”
After the investigation has been completed, the family will consider submission of lawsuits to respond to the collision, said Jung Yu-Chan, a spokesman for the family.
At the airport of a recent Saturday, Jo Mi-Young mourned the whole family that collapsed on a jet. Mrs. Joa Mi-Ja’s sister was on board with her daughter, daughter of her husband and their two children.
Mrs. Jo said that the child’s father, at Byung-Hwa, took his family to Bangkok for a triple celebration: he was recently promoted in his job in the agricultural cooperative, his wedding anniversary approached, and his mother-in-law recently had her 60th birthday.
“Who else will remember this family?” Mrs. Jo asked.
Her brother Jo Hyo-Seon said he and his sister remained at the airport almost every day from a collision, finding comfort in shared experience with other families.
“Only here we can cry, we can only laugh here,” he said. “We don’t leave until the truth is said.”
