New Viral Photo Shows Asiana Airlines Flight Attendant Risking Her Life During Recent Incident: Koreans Outraged

Earlier, South Korean news outlets reported that a man was arrested for opening the door of an Asiana Airline plane in the middle of a flight.

A Korean man in his 30s responsible for forcing the exit open during an Asiana flight. | *News1*

Shocking clips from the incident showed the exit swinging open, as well as the 194 passengers responding with fear and panic.

“A Man Suddenly Opened The Door!” Passengers Recount Harrowing Asiana Airlines Flight

Amid the updates regarding the Daegu Police’s investigation of the man and Asiana Airline’s response to what has happened, one photo has gone viral for capturing the threatening moment.

In the photo, shared with News1, a female flight attendant is blocking the exit that has been forced open.

News1 explained, “It is assumed that the flight attendant is doing her best to stop additional harm being done while the plane is coming to a full stop.”

A female flight attendant wearing a mask is hanging on to the cabin, blocking the door that Mr. A (33) has forced open. It is assumed that the flight attendant is doing her best to stop additional harm being done while the plane is either attempting to make a landing or taxi-ing to a full stop. A protection guard has been installed, but the attendant is struggling to block the exit on her own.

— News1

The photo has since gone viral—and sparked a whole new discussion online. Taking note of how the flight attendant is risking her life while dressed in a tight-fitting uniform consisting of a skirt and heels…

Asiana Airline’s female flight attendant uniform. | *@6a51c9907a4f468/Brunch*

…Koreans have begun voicing their outrage and demanding changes in the uniform regulations for female flight attendants.

For me, skirts are more comfortable. I wear the skirt version of all uniforms and I prefer skirts for personal outfits, too. But that’s because I don’t need to be prepared to respond to dangerous situations all the time. Of course, when I’m out and about living life, an oversized dress is better to move around in. But in moments of danger, pants would outperform skirts. No question about it. Pants allow for bigger, faster movement. We’re not talking about ‘Are pants better than skirts?’ or ‘What’s more comfortable between skirts and pants?’ We’re talking about the proper form of dress for the people who are in charge of our lives. The ones in charge of keeping us safe.

— Korean Netizen

While in 2013, Asiana Airlines allowed a slacks version of the uniform, most female flight attendants did not sign up to receive them—under the fear that “dressing different will result in negative performance evaluations, leading to penalties in promotions.” In 2018, JTBC confirmed once again in a news report that the lack of attendants taking advantage of the option for pants is because of the upper management’s pressure on the attendants to maintain the skirt-and-heel aesthetic.

Asiana does offer slacks. But the slacks have been said to be super uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that the attendants would rather deal with wearing the skirt version. So the option offered is not good enough. We want the airline to offer pants that are breathable, stretchable, and not see-through. We want the whole field to start thinking about how to make the uniforms more convenient for the attendants themselves.

— Korean Netizen

Pointing out how a skirt “makes no sense in 2023” and how heels “risk the life of both the attendant and the passengers in situations as such,” Koreans criticized Asiana and other Korean airlines for sticking to the skirt-and-heels look for decades too long.

“I know the attendants get trained for this, but still… It must have been terrifying for her.”
“She’s incredible. And I can’t help but notice her outfit. It looks so uncomfortable and even dangerous.”
“I hope this pushes the airlines to change the uniforms for the flight attendants. The current outfits look so uncomfortable for them to move around in, especially in emergency situations.”
“It breaks my heart to see her risking her life to handle the situation, all the while wearing an uncomfortable skirt.”
“She’s amazing. I can’t imagine how scared she must’ve felt. Great work!”
“It’d be great if the uniforms came in better material and in pants. Like sweats! TBH, it looks exhausting to dress how the attendants do.”

“Wow. She’s incredible. It must have been frightening for her, too. And… to think that she was handling such a dangerous situation in such an outrageous outfit? I hope flight attendants get to wear breathable uniforms and comfortable shoes.”
“How amazing…! But I want to know how come the uniforms have not changed at all in the past two decades.”
“She did incredible work. I respect her so much.”

As for the latest update, Asiana Airline announced—in response to the incident—that it will ban the sales of the seat closest to the exit door unless all other seats get sold out.