Memories Resurface with the Recovery of the MV Sewol

South Korea has finally begun to work on the recovery of the MV Sewol. Three years ago, on April 16, 2014, the MV Sewol capsized and 304 of 476 passengers and crew members died. Most were students from Danwon High School.

Although in the past it was said that the Sewol ferry could not be recovered, recently, engineers and divers attempted to bring the 6, 835 ton remains of the ship to surface and bring the wreckage to shore. By recovering the Sewol ferry, government officials and citizens alike hope to find the exact cause of the sinking along with 9 bodies that are still missing.

Although the disaster happened a while ago, the pain, anger, and sadness is still fresh in people’s minds and also has resurfaced since the tragic day in 2014.

Much of the blame was put on the ferry’s crew. There are many claims that the boat was overloaded and not properly secured. On top of that, passengers were instructed to stay put while most of the crew, including the captain Lee Joen-seok, clambered to safety. Lee has been sentenced to life in prison on charges of murder by willful negligence.

Some students share their opinions about the calamity.

George Kim, a sophomore from Valencia High School, shares with JSR, “I think that the fact that South Korea could have done a lot better job solving the problem is most hard to swallow. I mean, there are more than a hundred things that separate individuals could have done better to avoid the entire mishap that didn’t happen. The sinking was unnecessary and the entire thing is embarrassing.”

Allison Kim, a senior also from Valencia High School, adds, “I personally feel most sad when I think of all those kids that were inside the boat. I mean they were all my age, maybe even younger. And most of them died because they listened to instructions given by irresponsible people. Think about how scared they must have felt.”

With the recovery of the Sewol ferry, there is hope that the deaths from this tragic incident can be properly mourned and the necessary people can be brought to justice.