Looking for missing Danwon couple at memorial altar

By Joel Lee

The owner of a street food vendor selling ``tteokbokki,’’ or rice cake in red pepper sauce, in front of Danwon High School said he has been devastated by the last month’s ferry disaster that killed the school's hundreds of students.

Lee Jong-deuk, 56, said he has visited the joint memorial alter for the late students and particularly remembers a student couple who bought from him frequently. Both are believed to be dead.

``They frequently ordered a single portion of tteokbokki but I gave them more,’’ Lee told vernacular daily Hankyoreh.

Lee remembers their last visit three days prior to the disaster on April 13. They seemed silent and sullen perhaps after a fight. “Did you two fight? Be good to each other!” he said.

“Ajeossi (mister), it’s our 100th day anniversary next month!” the girl replied, brightening up after eating the extra tteokbokki Lee offered.

When Lee told them to visit his stand on their anniversary for free tteokbokki, they promised to bring him a gift from their trip to Jeju Island, the destination for the ill-fated venture.

Lee said he didn’t know their names except as second graders at Danwon. Out of the 325 students on the trip 75 have survived despite all being severely traumatized, currently under psychiatric care.

Not knowing whether the couple survived the accident, Lee said he visited the altar six times in search of their familiar faces, but to no avail so far. He added how nervous he felt upon hearing the news of a dead student couple found with their bodies tied together by a rope of their life jackets.