by COURTNEY LEE
courtney@charactermedia.com
Today (April 16), South Koreans mark the one-year anniversary of the Sewol ferry sinking, which killed more than 300 passengers–a majority of them high school students. In addition to our Q&A with two Sewol mothers, KoreAm has compiled a list of additional reading material on the lasting impact of the April 16 maritime tragedy.
“Bedrooms of the remembered” – BBC
This BBC piece shows haunting photos of Sewol victims’ families standing in the untouched bedrooms of the students who were on the ferry. Accompanying each photo are words from the family members. The images were taken by photographer Kim Hong-Ji, who states: “They stood calmly in front of my camera but I felt it was like a protest combined with deep sorrow, calling for their children not to be forgotten.”
“Legacy of a South Korean Ferry Sinking” – The New York Times
With an interactive timeline providing details over the span of a year, starting from the moment of the ferry’s departure, the New York Times takes a thorough and comprehensive look at the troubling legality issues behind the incident. “In an attempt to address such corruption in the shipping industry, the government revised laws in recent months to stipulate harsher financial penalties and longer prison terms for ferry crews and companies that violate safety rules,” the NYT writes. “Dozens of regulators, crew members, ship inspectors and officials with ferry and loading companies have been convicted or face trial for their roles in the Sewol disaster.”
“Keeping records of Sewol sinking” – The Korea Herald
This Korea Herald article focuses on “416 Memory Storage,” an archival project for the Sewol ferry disaster that started as a volunteer movement to keep record of the tragedy.
The photo of one of the student’s rooms “is one of 54 heartbreaking pictures of rooms that used to belong to student victims of the ferry disaster, currently on display at an exhibition in Ansan. It is also the first of a series of exhibitions and publications featuring records of the Sewol ferry sinking, its aftermath and impact on Korean society,” the Herald writes.
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Featured image by Kim Hong-ji/Reuters
