The photo of a man standing out of the sunroof of a partially submerged car has gained considerable attention online, earning him the nickname, "Sunroof Jwa," with "jwa" being a Korean term denoting expertise in specific fields.
The image of the vehicle, stranded in a deluged underpass, has also raised questions about how to escape submerged cars safely during the torrential rains that are currently inundating a significant portion of the country.
In an online post shared Tuesday, the man is seen waiting to be rescued in his car, which appears stuck in a flooded underpass in the city of Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province. By opening the sunroof, it appeared he was preparing to get out of the vehicle if it were to become fully immersed.
This incident reminded many internet users of last year's "Wiseman of Seocho," the nickname for an individual sitting on top of his nearly submerged Hyundai Genesis in the middle of a normally busy intersection in Gangnam-gu, coolly awaiting the arrival of a rescue team as floodwaters engulf the vehicle.
The Seoul metropolitan region was battered last August by the highest amount of rainfall per hour seen in 80 years, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Since then, experts have advised individuals trapped in flooded areas in their vehicles to use windows or sunroofs as escape routes and wait on the roof of the vehicles to be rescued, according to local media reports.
They further recommended abandoning vehicles submerged up to tops of the wheels since "it is unlikely that the vehicle will be able to operate normally," they were quoted as saying.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has provided safety tips for drivers caught in flooded cars, urging them to relocate to a safe location before two-thirds of the wheels become submerged.
In the event that a vehicle becomes immobile, the ministry advises using a seat headrest to break a window and escape. An alternative method of escaping is to wait and open the door after the car interior is flooded with water to within 30 cm of the height of the floodwaters outside of the car.
