The episode airing Dec. 11 revisits one of South Korea’s worst traffic disasters―an October 2006 chain-reaction crash that left 12 people dead and more than 50 injured―sharing harrowing on-the-ground accounts. Joining as guest panelists are YUNAH of ILLIT and actors Lee Seo-hwan and Yoon Hyun-min.
On Oct. 3, 2006, with visibility near zero due to thick fog, cars slammed into one another on the Seohae Bridge, triggering a 29-vehicle pileup. Fires broke out, turning the scene into utter chaos.
A firefighter who responded recalls, “What should’ve been a five-minute drive took over 20.” With no visibility, stalled cars lining the road―and even rubberneckers―getting to the crash site was a battle. A private ambulance worker breaks down describing the trauma: “Just thinking about that day brings me to tears. I witnessed someone on fire, and I still feel guilty that I couldn’t save them.”
YUNAH empathizes, choking up as she says, “I think I’d carry that regret my whole life, wondering if there was anything I could’ve done faster.”
Survivors―trapped in their cars amid crashes and flames―say even recalling the day is agonizing, and producers note it was difficult to find people willing to go on record.
Nine years later, the Yeongjong Bridge saw a 106?car crash. The show asks whether these catastrophic pileups were preventable human failures or unavoidable acts of nature.
"Tails of Tales" Seohae Bridge episode airs Dec. 11 at 10:20 p.m. KST.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)