Shim Hyun-chul has been a photojournalist for The Korea Times since 2006, covering news events throughout the country. He is committed to strict journalism ethics, and it has never changed since his first day in the newsroom. He has covered four presidential elections, two Olympic Games and countless daily assignments around the world. When he is not at work, he plays tennis. Shim is also a certified lifeguard by YMCA International, which means he can actually save lives.
Quenching more than thirst
By Shim Hyun-chul
By Shim Hyun-chul
From FISHING BOAT, Jindo ― It was about 7 a.m. Monday.
Four photographers including this reporter rented a boat to get near the site where the ferry Sewol sank.
An armada of ships, small boats and dinghies were scattered throughout the area.
The sea was calm, making one wonder if it was the same sea that had engulfed hundreds of students.
Still, the job comes first.
With the help of a telescopic lens, a search of a different sort got under way.
It didn’t take long to spot one man among six on board one of the rubber boats.
The man in a wetsuit was pouring water from a 1.5 liter PET bottle of mineral water into his mouth.
The boat had a Coast Guard sign on its side.
He is among hundreds of divers who are diving for 20 minutes at a time into the bowels of the sunken ferry to look for survivors. Their effort so far has ended up in recovering the remains of the passengers.
Some may say they have less than a 1 percent chance of finding survivors.
Perhaps, the diver was drinking water to make up for the remaining 99 percent so that he could find just one survivor during his next dive.