Sampung Department Store T-shirt, Chernobyl Photo Used in Olympic Broadcast... Casual Attitudes Toward Disasters

"To Raise Safety Awareness"... Clothing Company Includes Sampoong Department Store Photo
Olympic Broadcast Introduces Participating Countries Mentioning 'Tragic Incident'
Expert: "Ignorance and Lack of Sensitivity to Disasters and Catastrophes"

T-shirt printed with a photo of the Sampoong Department Store collapse disaster. / Photo by Massnoun website capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] It has recently come to light that a domestic clothing company has been selling clothes printed with photos of the Sampoong Department Store collapse disaster, sparking controversy.

A similar incident occurred during the broadcast of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Last month, MBC received international criticism for using a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear accident while broadcasting the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. As inappropriate use of images related to disasters and tragedies continues to occur, public criticism is pouring in.

It was recently revealed that the clothing company 'Massnoun' had been selling T-shirts printed with photos from the time of the Sampoong Department Store collapse for nearly a year. The Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995 is considered the worst human casualty disaster in South Korea, with 502 deaths and over 900 injuries.

As criticism of the T-shirts spread, Massnoun issued an apology, announcing the suspension of T-shirt sales and pledging to donate all proceeds from the approximately 100 T-shirts sold so far. However, the explanation given in the apology further angered the public.

The company explained, "The keyword for the 2020 FW campaign when the T-shirts were released was 'safety negligence,'" and said the reason for using the Sampoong Department Store photo was "to remind people not to be complacent about safety awareness and to think about past mistakes so that unfortunate incidents do not happen again."

Among citizens, criticism poured in, saying, "Are you emphasizing safety negligence but not considering the victims' pain?" Netizens expressed anger with comments such as, "How can you commercially exploit a national tragedy?", "Many people still live with wounds, how can they do that?", and "It's completely unreasonable and crosses the line."

MBC broadcast screen using a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear accident when introducing the Ukrainian team during the live coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony. Photo by MBC broadcast screen capture

Inappropriate use of photos related to disasters also occurred during the broadcast of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

On the 23rd of last month, while broadcasting the Olympic opening ceremony, MBC used a photo of the Chernobyl nuclear accident as the Ukrainian team entered. When introducing Haiti, they also displayed a caption saying, "Political situation in turmoil after presidential assassination." This mentioned unfortunate and tragic accidents or controversies experienced by the countries participating in the global festival of the Olympics.

This controversy was reported not only by domestic media and citizens but also by foreign media such as CNN and The Guardian, leading to international criticism. Because of this, even the president of MBC had to step forward and apologize.

Some voices of concern have emerged beyond criticism. They point to a lack of understanding and sensitivity toward the pain of people who have experienced national tragedies or disasters. Office worker Kim (28) said, "Could they have done this if they had even once thought about the victims' pain?" and added, "This is not just a simple mistake. It is a serious issue where consideration, understanding, and empathy for others are completely missing."

Cultural critic Jung Deokhyun said, "The Sampoong Department Store disaster and the Chernobyl nuclear accident still have lingering aftereffects and must not be easily forgotten," adding, "Because of this, victims who continue to suffer still exist. It is unacceptable to commercialize images that expose someone's pain without any sense of problem, not only for these two incidents but in general."

He emphasized, "When such issues arise, the image of the company that made the product naturally falls. Those who provide products must consider whether any image or caption might cause harm to someone."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.