Remembering Those Lost at the Mauna Resort

The tragic accident happened at the first orientation of BUFS in Namsan-dong

The memories of those lost will always be in our hearts

Managing Editor Seo Yun-chan

danseo123@naver.com

Busan University of Foreign Studies was founded on land in Uam-dong. However, in March, 2014, they moved their campus to the ground of Namsan-dong, where they were looking for a brighter future for their students and faculty. A lot of high school students signed up to study at BUFS. Freshmen gathered quickly, and the student councils of 2014 wanted to hold an orientation. However, since the buildings of the campus were all brand new, the school did not allow the students to hold an orientation on campus. Therefore, the student council decided to hold a freshmen orientation at the Mauna Resort, which is located at Gyeong-ju.

Despite objections from the school, the student council kept pushing their freshmen to hold an orientation program. In February, 2014, a lot of freshmen, undergraduates, and student councils gathered in the gymnasium of Mauna Resort. They were having fun, celebrating with each other, and gathering as one. Unexpectedly, the building started to collapse, causing many of those inside the building to suffer injuries, some of which were fatal.

After the disaster happened, they found that ten people, including five freshmen, had died due to the collapsing roof. One of the students, Yang Seong-ho, from the Department of Myanmar Language, managed to escape from the collapsing building. After he led a group of students out of the building, he went back inside to save those who had not yet made it out of the building. However, the remaining structure also then collapsed, burying Yang and the other students in the rubble. As student President of the department, he tried to save more lives, and in doing so sacrificed his own life.

Several reasons were attributed to the collapse of the building, but most experts say that the building was not able to withstand the weight of the snow. Footage of the building collapsing showed that it took less than 13 seconds from the moment of the first crack to the complete collapse.

To remember the loss of the innocent lives, BUFS held a memorial service on February 17. BUFS’ own pastor delivered words of comfort to those who mourned and President Kim also attended to pay his respects to the fallen students. Also, on the BUFS website, students sent words of comfort to the loved ones, saying they will always be remembered.