Designer-turned-YouTuber Millanonna revealed that her outlook on life changed due to the Sampoong Department Store collapse.
Millanonna (real name Jang Myung-sook, 73) appeared on the EBS and E Channel entertainment program "Seojanghoon's Neighbor Millionaire" (hereafter "Neighbor Millionaire") that aired on the 21st.
On that day, Millanonna mentioned the Sampoong Department Store collapse, saying, "As everyone knows, the luxurious department store where I was treated very well collapsed."
The incident occurred on June 29, 1995, at 5:57 PM, when the Sampoong Department Store located in Seocho-gu, Seoul, collapsed. The accident resulted in the deaths of 502 employees and customers, with 6 missing. There were also 950 injuries.
Millanonna said, "I was a consultant. I taught at the university on Tuesdays and Thursdays and only went to work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It collapsed on Thursday, the day I didn't go."
She added, "So I always feel a sense of guilt in my heart. Many of my classmates and subordinates were sacrificed. 'Why was I able to survive?' Experiencing that made me think, 'What is life?' 'What is death?'
Millanonna also stated, "Society is a very harsh place. Two days after the accident, I received a call from another department store asking me to work with them. I refused. I kept to myself for 100 days, praying for the victims without doing anything else. Every year when that day comes, I feel down. That was when my outlook on life changed."
She continued, "After experiencing the Sampoong Department Store accident, I decided to only keep what is necessary for basic living and share the rest. My perspective on the world changed, and I feel comforted by regularly visiting various organizations over a long period of time, which led me to live a life of sharing."
Millanonna is the first Korean student to study design in Milan. She went abroad in 1978 and worked as a designer. In the 1990s, she launched Italian luxury brands such as Max Mara and Salvatore Ferragamo in Korea. Currently, she shares content about lifestyle and fashion design on YouTube, engaging with her subscribers.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
