by TONY KIM
About 30 Danwon High School student survivors of the Sewol tragedy marched 25 miles to Seoul’s National Assembly building from their classrooms to urge parliament to pass a bill that would allow an independent inquiry into the incident. “Many of our friends tragically died, and because this march was the only thing we could do, we decided on doing it,” a class representative said, according to a MBN report.
The special bill to legally task an independent group to investigate the tragedy is currently being debated in Parliament. Families are demanding representation by having the right to choose half its members. Over 3.5 million signatures have been gathered for a petition to pass this bill in Parliament.
The student protestors marched in their uniforms for two days from Ansan. Many of them carried yellow umbrellas, flags and adorned yellow ribbons, which has become the national symbol of solidarity and protest against the government’s mishandling of the tragedy. One of the flags read, “Our friends’ tragic deaths! Please reveal the truth!” Pedestrians clapped and shouted words of encouragement as students passed by them on their way to Parliament.
When they finally arrived, students planted numerous yellow flags on the fence of the Parliament in hopes of moving them to pass the bill. A large crowd, by that time, had gathered at the destination to applaud the students.
The Sewol ferry sinking on April 16 traumatized the nation, after 304 passengers died in one of the worst maritime accidents in South Korean history; 11 bodies remain missing. Many of the deceased were students from Danwon on a school retreat to Jejudo, a popular resort island.
Photo via Yonhap News
