재난 후 친족 간의 관계 양상과 친밀감에 관한 연구: 세월호 참사 유가족의 경우

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the kinship and its changes after the Sewol ferry disaster among the bereaved families through field research and oral data analysis. Based on the accumulated understanding of the contexts through long-term field research in Ansan city, the researcher coded and analyzed a total of 48 volumes of the 4.16 Oral Testimonies, Tell the Day, published by the 4.16 Memory Archive. The results are as follows. First, in relation to the holidays and rituals, paternal relatives are more obliged to participate than maternal relatives, who are more active in everyday exchanges and intimacy. This pattern of kin relations appears in a similar way after the disaster, for example, attending a major event such as visiting a Jindo gymnasium, where the paternal relatives visited in a wider range, while maternal relatives performed daily activities, such as staying in the gym for long periods of time to help the surviving parents or caring for the children remaining in Ansan. The act of caring was mainly carried out by maternal relatives (especially, the wife's younger brother). In addition, in the situation of inter-city migration, it was found that resources of maternal relatives (particularly the wife's sister) were actively used. Secondly, about a year after the Sewol ferry disaster, the relatives of the bereaved families were found to be rapidly in tension or even disconnected, not just because of the attitudes or circumstances of the bereaved families. There were three major factors that led to the separation of the bereaved from relatives: the feeling of absence of their child at holidays or family events, relatives' opposition to the families’ struggle against the state for finding facts, and the social condemnation and stigma after the publication of the compensation plan by the Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries. As such, the country's irresponsible and immature attitude in the response after the Sewol ferry disaster led the victims to participate in unnecessary political struggles, which in turn influenced their kin relations over time. The results of this paper suggest two implications. First of all, in the event of a disaster, relatives still play a significant role as the most important support group for victims. Second, post-disaster government responses can have a profound effect on the victim's future life and social relations by affecting kinship.