Remembering three years after Sewol tragedy

By Lee Kyung-min

Tens of thousands of people gathered at numerous locations nationwide, Sunday, to commemorate the third anniversary of the ferry Sewol sinking on April 16, 2014.

More than 1,000 people gathered in front of Paengmok Port on Jindo, South Jeolla Province, the nearest point from the coast where the ill-fated ferry went down, killing more than 300 people, mostly high school students on a school trip to Jeju Island.

The memorial was attended by representatives and residents of Jindo, as well as the bereaved families of nine victims whose bodies have yet to be recovered. Middle and high school students in the region also participated by reciting poems in memory of the victims.

“The Sewol tragedy is not over until the remains of nine missing victims are recovered. Today marks not the end but the beginning,” said a father of one of the nine missing victims during the commemoration. “We ask that the public stand by our sides.”

The ferry sinking is arguably the worst maritime disaster in Korea’s recent history, seared into people’s memory as emblematic of the incompetence of the former President Park Geun-hye administration.

The whereabouts of the former president during the first seven crucial hours when the ferry was sinking still remains a mystery, and the failure to disclose what the public considers a duty of an elected leader in this country turned the public further against her. Park's continued refusal to communicate with the public contributed to criticism over how she handled state affairs and other matters in general ― cutting off all communication channels and selectively listening to only sycophantic voices.

The Sewol sinking, coupled with an influence-peddling scandal on an unprecedented scale, involving her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil, enraged the public. This resulted in weekend candlelit protests held for six months in a peaceful manner, all the more underscoring the resolute state of the people’s will. Park was removed from office last month.

On Sunday, state-run Korean traditional performance groups opened the event by performing a shaman-led ritual meant to console the souls of the victims.

Won Buddhism and Buddhism believers organized religious rituals near the site to pray for the victims.

Mokpo New Port in South Jeolla Province, where the raised Sewol is secured on a dry dock, was also bustling with outside visitors.

Thousands of yellow ribbons were tied to the barbed wire near the ferry with messages to the victims. “I couldn’t help crying after reading one of the messages written by one of the victims’ parents that read ‘Where are you my baby?’ thinking about my parents,” one of the visitors said.

A similar commemoration was held in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, home to Danwon High School, which most of the victims attended.

Over 5,000 seats were arranged at the Hwarang amusement park for a commemoration scheduled for 3 p.m. near the government-set up memorial altar in the city.

The National Council of Churches in Korea, a protestant group, and Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul held commemoration ceremonies during their Easter masses.

Tens of thousands of people paid respects to the victims at the memorial alter set up at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul.