Students and residents in Ansan, South Korea, hold up signs at a rally on April 17. Signs read: Signs read, “Please come back safely,” “Miss you, kids, and love you all,” and “Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat with mom.” Image via Yonhap
As search and rescue operations for the capsized South Korean ferry continue into the third day, the mood across the country is said to be grim, with people still reeling from shock, grief and dissipating hope over the fate of hundreds of passengers—mostly high school students—still unaccounted for.
Lawmakers suspended parliamentary activities and all events related to the upcoming local elections, and even Korean professional baseball games deliberately excluded the usual energetic cheerleading, as the news dominating the media and in cafes, offices and schools is that of the tragic sinking, which so far has 20 confirmed dead as of Thursday. The deceased include at least five students, two teachers and one crew member.
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Coast guard officials said, as of Thursday, there are 179 survivors, with more than 270 passengers—many second-year students at Danwon High School in Ansan—still missing. It is feared that many are trapped in the ship, which first sent out a distress call at around 9 a.m. Wednesday (South Korean time) just three hours away from the ferry’s destination of Jeju-do. Although rescue operations involving more than 500 divers, dozens of Navy ships, helicopters and assistance from the U.S. Navy have been ongoing, strong currents have hampered efforts to enter the ship, which is mostly submerged.
Yesterday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye paid a visit to the gymnasium in Jindo, in South Jeolla, where the family members of the missing have gathered.
“I have no idea of what kind of words of condolence I should deliver,” Park told the crowd of emotional, anxious and some angry relatives, as reported in the Korea Joongang Daily. “I am just back from the rescue scene and saw them doing their best to search by mobilizing every possible resource and manpower. Even though you might be having an extremely wretched time, please do not lose hope. Let’s wait for the news together.”
She promised to have a high-ranking official with knowledge about the rescue efforts at the location to provide frequent updates and address concerns. She also said a crane to pull up the ship, at least partially, was being mobilized to help look for survivors. But some parents in the crowd were not assuaged, with one reportedly yelling, “Bring my son back to life!” and another crying out, “Imagine how cold it could be down there!” according to the Joongang Daily.
Their sentiments were echoed in heartfelt messages communicated in signs held up by students and residents of Ansan at a rally yesterday. Signs read, “Please come back safely,” “Miss you, kids, and love you all,” and “Aren’t you hungry? Let’s go eat with mom.” On a chalkboard at Danwon High School, students similarly wrote, “Survive and come back,” “You have to come back, Song-hee,” and “Let’s go back to Vips (a popular restaurant) when we meet again.”
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Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement communicating his and the First Lady’s condolences over the tragedy. “The bonds of friendship between the American and Korean people are strong and enduring, and our hearts ache to see our Korean friends going through such a terrible loss, especially the loss of so many young students,” the statement said. “I’ve directed our military to provide any and all assistance requested by our Korean partners in the days ahead.”
Even Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, these days at odds with South Korea for his staunchly nationalistic policies, extended his “heartfelt sympathy” to the victims and their families, and offered his country’s help with the search.
Here’s a list of other related stories about the ferry sinking:
Grief in Town of Students Missing in Ferry Sinking
NPR/AP
The most poignant reminders of what’s been lost here are the most ordinary.
Desks in the classrooms of Danwon High School in Ansan, where dozens of students were missing and feared dead Thursday after a ferry disaster, are cluttered with textbooks, gym clothes, empty water bottles — small bits of ordinary school life now infused with heartbreak.
There is fury as parents and students lash out at the swarming news media. Horror, too, as they picture loved ones trapped in the cold and dark of a flipped, submerged ferry. Most refuse to believe that, even after dozens of attempts, a friend, a child, a sibling won’t answer their cellphone. They keep calling.
Two children among ferry survivors; families remain missing
Korea Joongang Daily
Among the survivors of the tragic ferry accident were a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, both from different families, whose other relatives remain missing.
On Wednesday, Kwon Ji-yeon, 5, was taken to Mokpo Hankook Hospital, in Mokpo, South Jeolla, along with the other survivors. She was traveling with her parents and older brother to Jeju Island to look for a new house.
“Somebody shouted at me from the back to take the baby,” said Yu Ho-sil, one of the survivors who helped in Kwon’s rescue, “and other students passed the baby outside.”
Heroes risked their lives to save others
Korea Herald
Amid screams and shouts for help and the fear of death, there were heroes who helped others escape first from the country’s worst maritime disaster since 1993.
Park Ji-young, a 22-year-old crewmember of the Sewol, was among them. She lost her life while struggling to ensure that all passengers on the third and fourth floors of the vessel wore life jackets and found their way out.
“I repeatedly asked her why she did not first wear a life jacket. Park just said that she would get out of the ship after making sure that all passengers were out. She said the crew including her would be the last (to escape),” a survivor told media.
Evacuation came too late for many on sinking ferry
Yahoo News/AP
MOKPO, South Korea (AP) — An immediate evacuation order was not issued for the ferry that sank off South Korea’s southern coast, likely with about 290 people trapped inside, because officers on the bridge were trying to stabilize the vessel after it started to list, a crew member said Thursday.
The first instructions from the captain were for the passengers to put on life jackets and stay put, and it was not until about 30 minutes later that he ordered an evacuation, Oh Yong-seok, a 58-year-old crew member told The Associated Press.
North Jersey Koreans grieve, await latest on ferry accident
NorthJersey.com
PALISADES PARK — North Jersey Koreans were glued to their phones and TV screens on Wednesday, checking for updates on the sunken ferry off the southern coast of Korea carrying 475 passengers, many of them high school students.
With six confirmed deaths and 290 still unaccounted for, local Koreans expressed grief at the stream of bad news that only seemed to get worse by the hour and said they were sympathetic to the parents of the 325 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, south of Seoul, who were on the way to Jeju island for a school trip.
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Grace Park, a Palisades Park resident walking on Broad Avenue, adding her hometown is 20 minutes away from Ansan. “How must the parents be feeling?”
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