The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol (2014)

This is not a high budget, high production value documentary that tackles a complex issue from different angles. This is a one man take to uncover the truth, by exposing one lie at the time and I believe this is the correct approach.

The story behind the Sewol is extremely complex. It’s not just a case of one person negligence - it’s a story that involves individual workers, coastal guards, press, police, politicians - you name it, more or less everyone was involved.

So does this documentary tell us how it happened? Why it happened? Does it provide any concrete explanations? No. But it paints a horrifying picture - when people on the site were too scared to even talk about what was going on. It focused on just a small portion of the events - the use of a diving bell, and how the government was doing its best to not make it successful. Exposing that lie in such detail, with interviews and video/recordings proof is how you break the well crafted picture the government and press created.

The movie shows how much effort was put into creating and upholding a lie and shifting the blame on others, when half of that effort would probably be enough to save the people trapped in the sunken ship.

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Lies that Killed People

On October 2014, amid much controversy and public scrutiny, the Busan International Film Festival held the premiere of The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol, or Diving Bell. The 77-minute film attacks of South Korean society via a close examination of a single catastrophe.

Sang Ho Lee and Hae Ryong Ahn’s Diving Bell unearthed the South Korean government’s incompetency in dealing with the disaster, as well as the corruption of the media. The film comprises mostly news footage, voice overs, and interviews conducted and collected by the journalist Lee during the crisis.

The footage speak for itself in revealing how media outlets colluded with the government in releasing false information to conceal the gravity of the disaster. The film was revelatory in showing how corruption and capitalist greed has rooted itself in South Korean society. It is also a condemnation of the press’s complacency in regard to government manipulation.

As the people of South Korea fell back into the comfortable cycle of their daily lives, the vicious cycle of lies, broken promises, and inept leadership began again. Diving Bell provided a stark reminder that as a nation which claims democracy, it is the government’s duty to protect its people. However, it is also the responsibility of the people to hold the nation’s leaders accountable.

Throughout South Korea’s 5,000 years of history, the people have endured constant invasion, internal conflict, and corruption. Yet the nation continues to exist because of the minority that deeply understands the urgent need for change.

This film represented the voice of the minority that comprehended that the ferry tragedy was not the first time that the South Korean government has failed to perform its most basic duty. Diving Bell warned that the Sewol Ferry disaster will happen again if the nation continues to turn a blind eye to the government’s perpetual violation of basic human rights.

As the documentary uncovers, you can feel yourself feel disgusted, sad and angry with no way to convey these emotions. The same emotions felt by the people on board the ship and their loved ones who didnt know what to do. The raw footage makes you wonder where is it going wrong cause everything is just wrong but you cant figure out to make it right. This documentary shows how low people can go. Makes you wonder for what they did so. For power? For honour? For money? For fame? The list just gets long while the dead are still dead. The movie shows how 304 missing goes to 304 dead.

As a grade 11 student writing this, I fail to comprehend how 250+ kids the same age as me only get to live till that age only because of the greed of adults that they never even knew. Flawed is the way of how it was handled. Everything from beginning to the end. But still no one is to blame. I cried and it took me long to finish this documentary. I will recommend this to you no matter what cause this is what the world is come to. We need to know how our same actions affect a larger crowd.

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