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‘The funerals were recent’: Dancing Jeju Air employees spark backlash

Published: 21 Jul. 2025, 16:18

Jeju Air employees are seen dancing in a TikTok video uploaded to the airline's official account [SCREEN CAPTURE]

A playful dance video by Jeju Air flight attendants has drawn backlash online, with commenters saying it comes too soon after a deadly crash that killed 179 people.

The 10-second clip, titled “Feisty flight attendants” (translated), was posted to Jeju Air’s TikTok account on July 11. In it, crew members smile and dance in various parts of the airplane cabin. As of Monday afternoon, the video had drawn 1.95 million views, 178,000 likes and more than 1,000 comments.

Many viewers slammed the airline, calling the post insensitive.

“Not even half a year has passed since the disaster,” one commenter wrote. Another added: “It took a long time to recover the bodies and confirm their identities. The funerals were recent. Wouldn’t it be upsetting to see this if it were your family?”

Others came to the airline’s defense, arguing the video had nothing to do with the tragedy. “The pilots and flight attendants did nothing wrong,” one user said.

Another wrote, “They look adorable dancing … Just because there was an accident doesn’t mean they have to stay gloomy forever.”

Jeju Air has aggressively grown its social media footprint, becoming the top domestic carrier by online subscribers as of August of last year. The airline has produced YouTube videos and Instagram challenges, with past content like the “Chanoul Challenge,” which racked up 5.8 million views.

Jeju Air employees are seen dancing in a TikTok video uploaded to the airline's official account [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The anger over the video comes as families of crash victims continue to demand answers. The Aircraft and Railway Accident Investigation Board (Araib) was set to release its interim findings on the December crash of Flight 7C2216 last Saturday but postponed the announcement at the families’ request.

Investigators have determined the crash was caused by pilot error after a bird strike, not engine failure. The board said the pilot mistakenly shut down the functioning left engine and failed to lower the landing gear before attempting to land. Families have rejected the findings, accusing the board of lacking transparency and unfairly blaming the deceased pilot.

Workers are seen at the wreckage of a Jeju Air passenger aircraft that crashed at Muan International Airport on Dec. 29, 2024 on Jan. 3. [NEWS1]

The Araib plans to release a preliminary report by April and final findings by June next year.

Flight 7C2216 was traveling from Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan on Dec. 29 when it collided with birds during landing, attempted a belly landing and crashed beyond the runway, killing all but two of the 181 people on board.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]