Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Amid the tragedy of the Sewol ferry disaster in South Korea, the obedience of Koreans, or Asians in general, has become a target of shaken survivors and commentators.

Sewol, which had more than 400 passengers on board, sank on April 16 during a trip on the frigid Yellow Sea. The hopes of finding more survivors had almost dwindled to zero.

As the ferry capsized and began sinking, the passengers, mainly high school students, were instructed by the crew to stay where they were. This led to a widely aired belief that many victims who could have scrambled above deck and survived by jumping into the water instead got trapped in a watery tomb.

The Koreans, from teenagers to adults, have been questioning whether their culture of obeying authority caused many unnecessary deaths.

Some international media outlets, such as CNN, even suggested such blind obedience is a trait of the entire East Asian population.

Yet, the assertion is at best a simplified answer for a much more complicated question.

Despite its no-brainer temptation, natural or man-made disasters are not a good barometer to test cultural differences. Many examples show both Asian or Westerners can be obedient or disobedient in life-or-death situations.

And when caught off guard, people's normal reactions are often based on common human instincts and personal experience, rather than culturally defined behavioral codes.

During the September 11 terrorist attacks, there were 16.5 minutes between the first airplane hitting the North Tower and the second one hitting the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

Building management kept broadcasting announcements during that time to assure tenants that the South Tower was safe. But 1,400 people didn't listen and ran out and 600 people chose to stay, including some who went back after hearing the announcement.

A USA Today investigation revealed various reasons for people making different decisions, from whether they witnessed someone jumping out of the burning North Tower to whether their bosses had decided to evacuate.

In an opinion piece in the New York Times in 2011, Japanese writer Ryu Murakami documented his experience staying in a hotel during the devastating earthquake that hit his home country on March 11 of that year and led to a destructive tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

He was obedient when the hotel management instructed tenants to stay in their rooms because the hotel was earthquake-proof. He had doubts but he chose to stay. He was safe.

He noted Japanese could "abide faithfully by the rules of the 'group' and are adept at forming cooperative systems in the face of great adversity." But "we also have a tendency to behave egoistically - almost as if in rebellion."

But the reason he trusted the instruction was not really about culture but faith. "The great earthquake and tsunami have robbed us of many lives and resources. But we who were so intoxicated with our own prosperity have once again planted the seed of hope. So I choose to believe."

If there are differences in reactions, it might be easier to draw a line between adults and children than between Asians and Westerners.

During the far-too-frequent school shootings in the US, American students, although scared, seem to be quite obedient when given safety instructions.

If the teenagers on Sewol were Americans, it's hard to imagine they'd have behaved much differently than the South Korean kids.

Children may be full of rebellion when it doesn't matter much, but they do tend to list to the directions of their teachers and other adults in a crisis.

And, despite the exceptions like the Sewol tragedy, being obedient in emergencies is often the wise choice.

When fire broke in a high-rise residential building in Manhattan this January, those who chose to stay in their apartments with the doors firmly closed and to wait for rescue were proven right, because the building is built with fire-proof material.

The only person who died in the incident was 27-year-old playwright Daniel McClung who tried to run down a stairway that quickly filled with deadly smoke.

The incident prompted a New York City council member to propose legislation requiring all high-rise buildings to install intercom systems, so that the management can better instruct tenants in emergencies.

The real problem with Sewol is the captain who ordered passengers to stay where they were reportedly left the boat without giving clear evacuation instructions.

It reminded me of the fire in a hotel in Karamay, China in 1994 that took more than 323 lives. The dead include 284 kids who were performing there for visiting officials. When the fire erupted, they were told to "let the officials leave first."

Before or after Sewol, being obedient to authority in an emergency remains the best choice one can make. But put this in mind: The authority that betrays this trust can make the disaster much more deadly.

The author is a New York-based journalist. rong_xiaoqing@hotmail.com