By Choi Kyong-ae
Among the many victims of the tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry was an engaged couple who were soon to marry.
Kim Ki-woong and Cheong Hyun-seon, both 28, had been dating since 2010 and were expected to marry this fall. But their dream of starting a family ended when the ferry capsized on April 16 with 476 on board, according to local reports.
The couple was among 56 people officially confirmed dead as of 3 p.m. Sunday, with 174 rescued but 246 still missing. Search and rescue operations are still under way, said the Ministry of Security and Public Administration (MOSPA).
Kim came to know Cheong four years ago in 2010 when he got a part-time job work as an assistant pyrotechnician on the ferry. Kim finished his military service and was working to save money before going back to school. He was a student at Incheon National University.
Then, Cheong worked as crew member at Chonghaejin Marine, the operator of the sunken Sewol-ho ferry.
Kim used to go on board not only to make extra money from the part-time work but also to see his girlfriend. Their love deepened on the ship as they traveled between the northwestern port city of Incheon and the resort island of Jeju, reports say.
“My son was working for the Ohamana ferry which carries passengers from Incheon and Jeju. But he also took a job on the Sewol due to higher demand for fireworks displays as the high-season approaches,” Kim Gwang-sook, the 59-year-old mother of Kim, told local media.
The 6,322-ton Ohamana cruise ship is also operated by Cheonghaejin Marine.
The funeral ceremony was held for Kim on Saturday and the funeral services for Cheong are expected to be held within a couple of days.
Steering by a less-skilled junior officer led to the sinking of the 6,825-ton car ferry. Low visibility and strong currents have been preventing the rescue teams from searching for the missing 246 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, a suburb of Seoul, and others, MOSPA said.
The vessel capsized and sank within a period of two hours after the ferry captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, fled the sinking ship without an evacuation order that could have saved lives of hundreds of passengers, it said.
In the country’s worst offshore incident in 1993, 292 were killed when a passenger ferry carrying 362 people sunk off the west coast.
“We are planning to hold a wedding ceremony for the deceased couple if the mother of Cheong agrees on our proposal,” Kim’s mother said.