Ahead of second anniversary, students visit with Sewol victims’ families

Posted on : 2016-03-28 17:24 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
From around the country, students the same age as those who died meet peers who lost their siblings
University students fly paper planes with messages for victims of the Sewol sinking
University students fly paper planes with messages for victims of the Sewol sinking

A sparsely visited government memorial to victims of the Sewol sinking in Ansan found itself crowded with visitors once again on Mar. 26 as around ten siblings of victims from the city’s Danwon High School greeted 106 university students there.

The university students visiting the memorial included incoming first-year students from 26 universities around the country in cities such as Busan, Mokpo, and Chuncheon. The siblings had begun personally planning the two-day “April 16 University Student Study Center” a month before.

Park Ga-eul, 24, stood before a funeral portrait of her younger sister Seong-bin, who died in the tragedy, to share memories of her with students the same age as she would be today.

“Before leaving for her field trip, we had a video call and I helped her pick out clothes. She wore my shoes when she went, and one of them came back without its mate,” said Park, who was studying in the US at the time of the sinking.

A first-year Hanyang University student surnamed Kim, 21, couldn‘t hold back the tears even after leaving the memorial.

“It was my first time visiting, and seeing the funeral portrait just left me weeping,” said Kim, who came with a friend after seeing a poster for the event at their school.

“I had only felt bad after seeing about the sinking on the news. Now I’m going to think about what I can do in the future,” Kim added.

It wasn’t only first-year students attending the event. Many were older students like 23-year-old Seong Ji-hun, who was discharged from his mandatory military service two months earlier.

“I was a private when the Sewol tragedy happened, and I felt guilty for not being able to do anything,” Seong said.

 at Danwon High School in Ansan.
at Danwon High School in Ansan.

Oh So-yeong, 22, did mentoring activities with the elementary and middle school-age siblings of victims in Ansan after the tragedy.

“The children were so cheerful and happy that I thought they were getting over it, but when I asked one of the elementary students last winter what her Kakao Talk profile picture was, she said, ‘My brother’s funeral urn,’” Oh recalled.

“It pained me to think they hadn’t forgotten, that they still missed their brothers and sisters so much,” Oh said.

The event was followed by a round table and reception where the students listened to the siblings and other family members as they described their battle to learn the truth behind the sinking and help build a safer society after the tragedy - as well as their thoughts on what needs to be done going ahead.

“Every time the grown-ups get together, they say I should try to make something of myself because my sister’s gone now. But I don’t think it’s ‘making something of myself’ to avoid the realities of this country and society that I learned after losing her,” said Park Ga-eul, who has taught at her parents‘ private academy since taking a break from school. She has been unable to return to the US since the tragedy.

One victim’s mother left the hospital and came to visit after receiving word that students the same age as her late son would be coming.

“Our children’s friends are university students now, and I’d like to visit a lot of the students and moms and dads to find out how they‘re doing,” said Kwon Mi-hwa, whose son Oh Yeong-seok lost his life in the sinking.

“When you go back home, I hope you’ll tell your family members the truth, and I hope you’ll tell your parents how much you love them,” a tearful Kwon told the crowd. Students responded by shouting, “Mom, Dad, I love you.”

The university students spent a short night tucked under blankets by the family members at Jindo Gymnasium in South Jeolla Province, near the site of the sinking, before the next morning’s activities, which involved making a ring of yellow ribbons to symbolize the tragedy and visiting classrooms at Danwon High School to remember the victims.

“The life we take for granted must have been something deeply meaningful to someone,” said Kim Yun-jeong, a 20-year-old freshman at Hanshin University.

“We will not live our lives in vain. I will never forget the Sewol - I will remember it every moment I live,” Kim added.

The encounter was also a meaningful occasion for the siblings as they greet their second spring since losing their family members.

“For a long time, I was tough for me to see children my brother’s age and think about him,” said Kwon Oh-hyeon, 30, whose brother Oh-cheon died in the sinking.

“I was nice to have the opportunity to open up and talk, and it gave me strength to know there are people sharing in it,” he added.

By Park Tae-woo, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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