Koreans mourn death of two Chinese girls

Chinese gather to mourn for the two victims of the Asiana Airlines plane crash, at a park in Jiangshan City, Zhejiang Province, Monday. The two teenage girls — Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia — were killed in the jet crash at San Francisco International Airport. They were students at a school in the eastern province of China and were among a group of 30 who were flying to the United States along with their teachers to take part in a summer camp. / AP-Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

Koreans are mourning the death of two Chinese teenage girls in Sunday’s crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport.

Wang Linjia, 17, and Ye Mengyuan, 16, both students of Jiangshan Middle School in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang, were reported as the sole fatalities of the tragic crash.

“I was saddened by the news of their death. I was shocked that such young girls died while following their dreams,” said Lee Wol-soo, 54, a public relations officer in Gyeonggi Province.

“As a mother of three children who are around the same age as them, I especially feel sorry about the pain and sadness the parents of the two feel.”

Choi Ji-na, a 29-year-old office worker working for a trading company in Seoul, said, “I was sorry to hear about the accident. I feel sorry they became the victims of an accident on a flight operated by a South Korean airline.”

Netizens also expressed their regret over the death of Chinese girls.

“I pray for the repose of the deceased. I hope Asiana Airlines and the Korean government will extend every courtesy and offer sufficient compensation to the bereaved families with sincerity,” said a Twitter user with the ID “pso***.”

Another Twitter user, ID “top****”, said, “I want to say all South Korean citizens send their condolences over the young girls’ deaths.”

Korean citizens in Beijing joined the condolences.

Park Jung-min, a 17-year-old student studying in a high school in Beijing, was quoted by a local daily as saying, “I am sad about the deaths of the girls of about the same age as myself. I want to offer them dolls so that they are not lonely in heaven.”

Kang Joon-young, a director of Samsung electronics’ Beijing branch, told reporters, “My condolences go out to the two teenage girls’ families. I hope those injured can go back to their daily life at the earliest possible date as well.”

U.S. citizens also offered their sympathies over the deaths.

According to the Los Angeles Times (LAT), Wang and Ye were supposed to arrive Monday at West Valley Christian Church and School in the San Fernando Valley to attend a three-week American summer camp.

After hearing of the sudden accident, the church held services to commemorate the victims Sunday, and also plans to hold a large scale requiem Thursday, the LAT said.

The number of Chinese people aboard the crashed aircraft was the largest at 141 out of 307 passengers and crew members.