SRT Special Class Snack Box Controversy Over 'Turtle Ship with Rising Sun Flag'

The SRT high-speed railway has come under scrutiny for including an image of the turtle ship with a rising sun flag in snack boxes provided to first-class passengers.

This issue has sparked public outrage as it is seen as an inappropriate representation of a historical symbol.

On the 9th, a post titled 'SRT Turtle Ship Rising Sun Flag Controversy' appeared in the online community Bobae Dream and quickly went viral.

The author of the post pointed out that the snack box provided in the SRT first-class contained a turtle ship image with a flag resembling the Japanese national flag, depicted as a red circle.

Red circle resembling the Japanese national flag

Criticism of Historical Symbol Desecration

The controversial snack box featured the phrase, "A romantic journey departing on SRT to Yeosu," along with images of major tourist attractions in Yeosu, such as the Marine Cable Car, turtle ship, and Expo Park.

SRT operates a service that provides snack sets including water and nuts to first-class passengers, but it appears that proper checks were not conducted regarding historically sensitive elements in this process.

Professor Seo Kyung-deok of Sungshin Women's University strongly criticized the issue on his social media.

He stated, "It is an enormous mistake. It is truly unacceptable to have a rising sun flag on General Yi Sun-sin's turtle ship," urging SRT to recognize its responsibility for design management and to reflect on its actions.

Criticism continued to flow online.

Netizens expressed strong discontent, saying, "A rising sun flag on a turtle ship, is this something that can happen in the Republic of Korea?" and "Even if it's a company mistake, there should have been an opportunity to correct it when the design was presented. Does SRT not have a management and oversight department?" Others added, "Such individuals should not just receive a warning but must be dismissed."

As the controversy grew, SR, the operating company of SRT, took immediate action.

An SR representative stated, "We have immediately recovered all problematic items and will demand corrections from the design and manufacturing company while reviewing the contract," promising to strengthen internal inspection procedures and educate relevant departments to prevent recurrence.

SR further stated, "We will make every effort company-wide to ensure that this does not happen again," adding, "We sincerely apologize to everyone who has been hurt by this matter."

Image source: Bobae Dream, photo=Insight