A civic event has started throughout South Korea recently due to a tragic event. On September 3rd a popular girl group called ‘Ladie’s Code’ was involved in an accident that killed two members, Go Eunbi and Kwon Rise, and left another in critical condition. An ongoing investigation by the police is trying to discover the cause of the accident, but many people believe that the two members who passed away were not wearing their seatbelts. Since this event, the Korean public started speaking up through a movement in social media- the #Buckleup Campaign. Whenever a fan sees the picture of a celebrity in a car and not wearing a seatbelt, they tweet the celebrity that hashtag to remind them about using their seatbelt and being safe.
The truth is that road safety has been an issue in Asian countries for several years now; the rates of seat belt use in Korea, for example, show that 78% of passengers wear their seatbelt when seating on the front seat, but only 6% wear it when seating in the back. China has about one third as many cars as the United States, yet it has around 20,000 more deaths per year due to traffic accidents. Yet this topic had never been as seriously discussed by the Asian youth as it is now, and I believe that kairos was a big factor on this.
People (not just in Asia, but in the entire world) usually think of traffic related deaths as just an article and some numbers on the news; they never expect it to happen to them or their loved ones. But seeing it happen to a celebrity creates a shock factor throughout the population, because it makes them realize that traffic accident really can happen to anyone. Many other Korean celebrities have been involved in car accidents in the past. However, this is the first time in a decade that a Korean celebrity died because of a car-related accident, which makes the shock factor even greater (We saw this same shock factor occur in the U.S. a couple of months back with Paul Walker). I believe that this shock factor is the key element that makes kairos effective and allows a way to raise awareness about the topic.
Although more attention is being given to the problem, it is truly saddening that a tragedy like this had to happen for the topic to be raised; my condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
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Chandler Grace Snow says
When I was living in Korea, I always wore my seatbelt, the roads are narrow and the drivers aggressive, making it a very good idea to keep buckled. It always scared me that my boyfriend at the time’s Korean mother would never wear hers, and therefore neither did he or his brother. He often forgot to put it on when in my families car, but my mom wouldn’t start driving until everyone was buckled. It is sad that it often takes a tragedy to convince people to change their ways, and I wish that everyone would know to wear their seatbelts whenever they are in a car.
sxs5999 says
This was a great example of Kairos. I really related to the topic. While I was in China, I personally experienced how terrifying it is to drive there. It’s sad that a celebrity’s death was the inspiration for new safety measures (and not something less gruesome), but I definitely approve of the positive benefits that resulted from this tragedy.