French news blames Korea's chronic short-temper for concert tragedy

French news outlet Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported Saturday about the ventilation grate collapse from Friday and pointed to Koreans’ chronic short temper, the so-called “ppali ppali” (quickly, quickly) temperament, as its main cause.

Headlined “Fatal fall for 16 fans during a concert in South Korea” and written by Seoul correspondent Frederick Ojardias, the article said the nation’s rapid industrial development in the past had created “a habit of giving priority to development even by cutting corners on safety.” It was followed by a punch line that read “a habit called ppalli ppalli is increasingly challenged as dramas accumulate.”

The article said the tragedy “reopened the debate on the issue of non-compliance with safety rules,” which caused past accidents such as the sinking of the ferry Sewol on April 16 that took 300 lives, mostly students, and an auditorium roof collapse in February that killed 10 and injured 105. It also gave a paradoxical point how safety culture has failed in “The Land of the Morning Calm.”

During a pop concert held Friday at Pangyo Techno Valley just southeast of Seoul, a grating over a ventilation shaft gave way due to the weight of the people who stood on top of it to get a better view. The victims fell four stories into a sub-basement parking lot. The accident killed 16 and injured 11.