And a douchebag award goes to…..South Korea’s lack of empathy towards a Foreigner’s well-being.
In the wake of a blaze in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province that claimed 40 lives, it was discovered that the basement floor of the warehouse where the fire broke out had no ventilation…
Fire investigators believe vapors from paint thinner, left over after the urethane foaming was sprayed, had lingered inside the storage area and were ignited by an electrical spark. The fact that the facility was engulfed in flames right after the explosion seems to indicate it was filled with flammable vapors.
Over 50 workers toiling inside an enclosed area filled with flammable vapors is an extremely hazardous situation. Paint thinner vapors are highly flammable and can easily ignite by just a tiny spark caused by metal tools hitting each other. Many LPG canisters were reportedly inside the area as well. The workers had been working while their lives were at risk. These are primitive and ignorant conditions. Valuable lives have been lost due to a lack of safety awareness on the part of their employers and supervisors. (chosun)
The disaster raised concerns about the poor working environments for foreign workers, especially ethnic Koreans from China. Paik Soo-bin, a Chinese language lecturer at Hanseo University who lost her cousin in the fire, said, “Korean-Chinese workers are doing all dangerous jobs. We’re treated as compatriots only in words, but we’re looked down upon in reality. How can you do this to us? They should have provided the workers with minimum safety equipment…”
Compensations for the victims will also be difficult to find. The entire building was insured against damage for W15.3 billion (US$1=W941) at LIG Insurance. The problem is, this insurance only applies to the building and goods stored in the warehouse but not the victims. An LIG Insurance official said, “As they were not insured, humans are not subject to compensations. We’ll pay compensation in due process for the destroyed building and damaged machinery and equipment inside it…”
The surviving families of the dead can receive either lump-sum payments of 1,300 days’ wages for the dead or monthly annuities of 52 to 67 percent of the average monthly pay of the deceased. The injured will get 70 percent of their daily average wage in allowance while in treatment, and can also get disability compensation depending on the degree of disability. (chosun)
Compensation is one thing, demanding a complete overhaul of Korea’s attitude and practises towards foreigners, is a must. You can see so many examples of how cruel the common people can be without any real ill will towards foreigners in the news.
Why should I care since I don’t live in Korea? It’s because I’m Korean and each story just makes Korea look ugly and incompetent.
When you have guests in your house, you want to make them feel like as if they are at home, despite being culturally different. You want them to have good memories and even if it’s just for business, they should leave feeling like they were taken care of. That is the right way Korea should handle foreigners. That’s how everyone should be treated.
I’m sure the majority of Koreans are all around good people, but it’s the douchebag who hog up all the spotlight with their stupidity and neglect…and this time, it took the lives of over 40 people and disfigured many more.
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