One year ago, on April 16, 2014, the Sewol ferry sank on a routine trip from the port of Incheon, near Seoul, to the holiday island of Jeju. Two hundred and fifty students were killed in the disaster, and some families have kept their children’s bedrooms intact to remember and honor their loved ones.
At left is Ahn Myeong-mi, mother of Moon Ji-sung, a high school student who died in the ferry disaster. Ahn, pictured standing in her daughter’s room, said, “My perspective on my country has changed. I thought my country was good. I prayed for it. However, after the disaster, I couldn’t pray for a while.”
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Huh Heung-hwan (R) and Park Eun-mi, the parents of Huh Da-yoon, a high school student who died in the Sewol ferry disaster, pose for a photograph in their daughter’s room.
Park said, “I haven’t thought about anything but finding my daughter. I will never give up until I find her. For a year, every day was like that day, April 16, 2014. The times I laughed about trivial things have became precious moments. I thought living an ordinary life was the easiest thing, but I’ve realized it is the hardest thing.”
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Shin Jum-ja (R) and Jung Soo-beom, mother and younger brother of Jung Hwi-beom, pose for a photograph in Shin’s son’s room.
Shin said, “Before the accident, my family talked a lot. Now we save our words, trying not to hurt each other. I am eager to see Hwi-beom just once. I wish I could hug him.”
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A combination picture shows the parents of Shin Ho-sung, Jung Bu-ja (R) and Shin Chang-sik, in their son’s room, as well as details of objects.
Jung said, “I was protesting, asking for an inquiry to find out the real reason why the ferry capsized. Some foreign tourists took photos of me. At that moment, I felt I was an alien, although I live in this country. All I wanted to know was the reason why the crewmen were all rescued but our children had to die.”
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Kim Mi-hwa, mother of Bin Ha-yong, poses in her son’s room.
“As I see the children, they are all pretty and precious. All of them have a right to be loved and have dreams. Losing these kids is a tremendous loss for our country,” she said.
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Jung Hye-suk, mother of Park Sung-ho, poses in her son’s room.
“Good children have died because of adults’ faults,” she said. “The Sewol disaster taught us about the problems of our society, and adults should make efforts to fix them, although it’s too late. We have to strive to prevent any reoccurrence of this disaster and to build a culture that cherishes human life. Our children didn’t blame society. They tried hard to save each others’ lives and worried about their families. Don’t we have to learn from the efforts they showed in the last minutes of their lives?”
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Kim Youn-sil, mother of Jeong Cha-woong, poses for a photograph in her son’s room.
“I feel so sorry for Cha-woong and miss him so much,” she said. “Those children who stayed calm in the ferry at the last moment and worried for us were better than us. I don’t have confidence in my country anymore. I want to move abroad if my oldest child is OK with it.”
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Lee Hye-kyung, mother of Jeon Hyeon-tak, poses in her son’s room.
“Hyeon-tak’s body was discovered on May 1. How could I say even a word in the face of such deep sorrow. I don’t have any passion for my life. I raised him with all my heart,” she said. “Hyeon-tak, thank you for the life you spent with me.”
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Kim Young-lae (R) and Kim Sung-sil, parents of Kim Dong-hyuk, pose in their son’s room.
Kim Young-lae said, “A thorough investigation is needed, and the wrongdoers should be punished. This kind of accident might happen again if we don’t know why it happened.”
Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
