Three in the front seat, six in the back, and three more in the trunk for a total of 12 friends in a Sonata speeding on a highway in Gyeongsangbuk-do. Behind the wheel was a 23-year-old ferrying around her friends in the wee hours of the morning. The car crossed the median and struck a guardrail on the opposite side. Two high school kids died after being thrown from the trunk while the other ten were rushed to a local hospital. The driver’s blood alcohol level was .086, above the legal limit of .05%.
In North America one hears of horrific crashes like this one every summer. A cousin lost his only son and my aunt and uncle their only grandson ten years ago when a carload of graduating seniors smashed into a tree on a country road. There are few losses more painful than losing a child on the cusp of adulthood.


13 Comments
A childhood friend of my brother’s died in pretty much the same way.
three in the trunk??? how’s that possible?
Driving her friends, not his friends.
Correction noted, thank you. I tend to skim when I read and sometimes miss little details like 여.
Sad to read about these stories wherever they happen. A guy I knew rolled his car and died on his last day of high school. It was the local tradition to cut the last day of classes, drive out to the main bonfire/drinking/smoking/making out spot (not unlike places most rural or suburban communities in North America boast) outside of town, and have a few cold ones and/or a little weed. His older brother had died in a car accident only three years earlier, so you can imagine how crushed the parents - not to mention the entire community - were.
Darwinism at work. Stupid choices result in sometimes tragic outcomes. Maybe this can be a learning experience for other people who think they are immune to chance, fate, and life.
drink driving is bad, mmmkay?
“Darwinism at work. Stupid choices result in sometimes tragic outcomes. Maybe this can be a learning experience for other people who think they are immune to chance, fate, and life.”
Ever screw up when you were younger?
Not to make light of this tragedy, but on a trunk-related note, the Chrysler Sebring I rented this weekend had a pull-string in the trunk for those unfortunate enough to be locked inside…complete with illustration of person escaping from the trunk. Was wondering if it was a standard feature or an option on the Sopranos Special Edition Sebring.
It has been a long time since North American cars were large enough and North American asses small enough to even come close to fitting 12 of them into a sedan.
6/8 Gomdoree somehow ended up in Korea, Karma’s punishment for people who chose the wrong major in university…
Koreans always drive like they’re drunk.
3 in the trunk? Since when is this something that “happens in the
States”? What friggin moron gets in the trunk of a car, let alone with two other people. And as an aside, it wouldn’t surprise me if the 3 were
ALL guys….What with the Korean propensity for guy closeness….