As Sewol ferry comes into port, Mokpo becomes a city of yellow ribbons

Posted on : 2017-04-03 19:09 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Thousands of citizens gather to wave yellow flags and pledge to remember those lost in the tragic sinking
On Apr. 2 nearly Mokpo’s New Port
On Apr. 2 nearly Mokpo’s New Port

Mokpo was a sea of yellow as the South Jeolla Province city greeted the arrival of the Sewol ferry.

As the ship arrived on Mar. 31 at Mokpo’s New Port, citizens cancelled their scheduled spring flower festival to hold up yellow flags in the city streets, with yellow badges pinned to their chests. The 7.7-km stretch from the Seohaean Expressway to the six-lane Goha Boulevard, which leads to the New Port pier, was lined from side to side with banners and flags raised up to the sky. Automobile-only Mokpo Bridge was covered with around 200 yellow ribbons; the fence at the New Port, where the hull could be seen from a distance, was hanging with some 30,000. Beyond the rippling wave of yellow flags, the forsythias were in full bloom on the city’s symbolic Mt. Yudal.

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Around 40 Mokpo-area civic groups came together to form an organization called the Mokpo-Area Joint Council for Not Forgetting the Sewol, organizing remembrances for all Mokpo citizens to participate in. At 3 pm on Apr. 2, the groups held a commemoration rally titled “We Miss You” in front of the New Port fence. Over 1,000 participants used yellow umbrellas to spell out the words “people first,” and a human chain was formed to wish for the homecoming of as yet unrecovered victims of the ferry’s 2014 sinking.

At 5 pm, they began a two-hour march along the 3.4-km stretch from Mokpo Station to the terminal. The groups plan to continue holding cultural events to remember the Sewol every weekend until the tragedy has been resolved.

Commemoration of the Sewol brought together progressives and conservatives, groups and individuals. Banners bore the names of individual citizens - like Han Bong-cheol, who wrote, “I will wait until the last person is recovered” - as well as groups, including the Samhak Neighborhood Heads’ Association, the Manho Neighborhood Resident Self-Government Committee, the Mokpo North Port Merchants’ Association, and the Mokpo Fishing Industry Cooperative. Civic group members visited victim family members’ tents bringing water, seaweed rolls, instant noodles, tea, rice cakes, and medicine.

000 participants used yellow umbrellas to spell out the words “people first” and “we miss you”
000 participants used yellow umbrellas to spell out the words “people first” and “we miss you”

Young people volunteered to help on the ground. Jeong Sa-rang, an 11-year-old fourth grader at Yeonsan Elementary School, was among those passing out yellow ribbons.

“My mom said we should help our neighbors when they’re having trouble. I’m worried we might be running out of ribbons,” she said.

Fellow Yeonsan fourth grader Jo Ah-hyun, also 11, said, “I cry when I think of all the girls and boys who never came back.”

“I hope they can be returned to their family members quickly,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.

Mokpo resident Kim Ae-sun, 45, said she felt “sorry and sad.”

“I can’t imagine how much those waiting parents are suffering. I plan to keep helping until the recovery is complete,” she pledged.

Jeong Tae-gwan, a representative of the group Mokpo Cultural Alliance, said, “I don’t know if they‘re aware what residents here are feeling, but the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is opposed to putting up a memorial site at Mokpo New Harbor.”

“We are going to put up a memorial where the Sewol can be seen as we remember the victims and wait for the ones who haven’t been recovered yet,” Jeong said.

Park Eun-mi, 48, is the mother of one of the unrecovered victims, Danwon High School student Heo Da-yoon.

“I want to thank the people of Mokpo for treating this like it’s their issue. I will trust in the citizens’ support as I hold out until my daughter has been returned to me,” she said.

As the yellow ribbons fluttered near the New Port, an average of 10,000 people visited the area daily to sigh as they looked out at the Sewol‘s hull. The city of Mokpo assigned 12 shuttle buses to carry mourners between Mokpo Station, the terminal, and the New Port free of charge. As a gesture to the mood of national mourning, it also canceled a Mt. Yudal flower festival planned for Apr. 8 and 9. The city called on citizens to “make Mokpo a city of love and healing, abounding in noble humanity.” It also established a visitor information room on its website, calling on people to wear their Sewol badges with reverence.

“From the yellow flags fluttering all over the city, I could sense what a warm place Mokpo is,” said Kim Byeong-il, a 47-year-old visitor from Gwangju.

“I think Mokpo could end up like Paengmok Port in Jindo as a place for remembering the Sewol,” Kim said.

By Ahn Kwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent

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