Our Prayers For The Victims And Families of the Itaewon Tragedy

On the night of October 31, 2015, a Saturday, I passed by Itaewon on my way home to Hannam-dong in the Yongsan District of Seoul. 

I was taking the Subway Line 6 from Gongdeok Station to Hangangjin Station, but I decided to get off at Itaewon Station to see what Halloween thing was going on there.

When I came out of Exit 4 of Itaewon Station, what welcomed me was a huge crowd of Itaewon revelers who were there to party.

It was the the biggest crowd that I have ever seen in Itaewon, bigger than the crowds during the Itaewon Village Festival (read blog here) The crowd consisted mostly of young people, probably students, I thought.

Never have I thought it was a tragedy waiting to happen.

I know that narrow alley behind Hamilton Hotel too well. My friends and I have been to those nice restaurants located along that alley.

Last Saturday night's tragedy was a shock to everyone, especially to me and my friends who used to have fun there in Itaewon. 

We remember the victims and their families in our prayers during All Souls' Day.🙏

(This is the welcome arch of Itaewon that greets everyone at the Noksapyeong side) 

#Itaewon #ItaewonHalloween #Itaewonstampede #Seoul #Korea

Of Yellow Boats, Yellow Ribbons And White Chrysanthemums

Yup. That's what you'd see if you visit the mourning altar for the Sewol ferry disaster victims at the Seoul Plaza. It was set up for everyone who wanted to offer flowers and prayers for the dead and to condole and sympathize with their families.

Messages from children and adults are written on the yellow ribbons and yellow boats. The ribbons are hanging on the walls, while the boats are sitting on the lawn as if waiting to set sail. 

I went to offer a white chrysanthemum at this altar today. I walked under the white canopy and followed the line. The mourners stood in front of the altar in groups, and before our group went in, each of us was given a white chrysanthemum, a flower that symbolizes grief.  There were two lines in our group and luckily, I was in the second one. A Korean gentleman in black standing to the right of the altar gave instructions to each group and I was able to observe what the mourners on the first line did before our turn. 

                                  (The mourning altar)

The standing in line, the waiting for our turn, the bowing at the altar and the laying of the white chrysanthemum were all routine but done with a sad message of sympathy and a prayer for the victims' eternal rest.  And I wondered.  Was the greed and craving for more profits and money at the expense of the safety and lives of these children a routine, too? And what message does this say to everyone?

Well, the message has always been loud and clear, but I guess nobody was listening. All these decades of advancement and development, Korean society has become materialistic. It seems to me that everyone loves to flaunt new 'this' and new 'that' to friends, relatives, and neighbors. Everyone wants to earn lots of money so they can buy 'this' apartment and 'that' car. And I guess, if the owners behind that ferry company scrimped on safety and loaded the boat with more cargoes because of this greed, then this national tragedy IS the message. 

                           (A mother explaining to her son)

                                      (Yellow boats)

As I was leaving the altar site, I passed the white tents clothed with thousands of yellow ribbons with messages. On the open area were hundreds of yellow paper boats with messages written by children. And perhaps, like most visitors and mourners at the Seoul Plaza these days trying to understand this tragedy, I see not only yellow, white or black. I also see one other color. The color of greed. 

I hope everyone wakes up and realizes this, as it seems the society has forgotten what it actually treasures the most. Because all the time, we're always late to realize what's important to us...until it's gone.

We couldn't be writing messages in yellow ribbons, or even put up altars and offer white chrysanthemums every time there's an avoidable tragedy.  

                      (The white chrysanthemum I offered)

Though those responsible must be held accountable, the authorities should ensure everyone's safety in all modes of transportation so that accidents like this don't happen again. 

Though yellow and white may be the colors that are most obvious these days, it's that other color that is causing all the grief, pain and anger. 

                          (At the Sejong Art Center entrance)

The Sewol Ferry Tragedy: "We Are All Waiting For You To Come Home..."

On that morning of April 16, when I learned of the news that a ferry sank near Jindo en route to Jeju-do, I also thought that everything would be okay. South Korea is a country equipped with advanced communication systems and maritime rescue equipment and personnel. 

And just like everyone else who thought of that, I was wrong.

The news that followed the early updates were then impossible to understand; just impossible to believe. The whole incident was like a disaster movie. But unlike some disaster movie that have some semblance of a happy ending, this one is tragic. Very tragic.

These days, I have refrained from updating this personal blog as I just could not get myself to write about places I've just been and events I recently attended. With the whole nation in mourning, it wasn't right to be blogging about something 'festive'.

This maritime tragedy brought me back to the spring of 2010 when a South Korean frigate was sunk by North Korea. Forty-six sailors died in that sinking and an altar was set up at the Seoul Plaza. 

But this one is beyond understanding. These were just kids, barely out of high school, and each one had his and her future just ahead of them. I have read the news of the accounts of the survivors and the videos in the kids' phones and their messages. They basically were just left behind by the ferry's captain and crew, the people who were supposed to look after their safety. None of us can even imagine what happened inside the cabins when everything was turned upside down, disorienting everyone, with the whole room turning dark and was gradually filled, not only with the cold sea water, but also screams for help and cries for their mothers. 

None of us can. 

And I will not even attempt to imagine what their fathers, mothers and other family members are going through right now. For the victims whose bodies were recovered, maybe, just maybe, the parents would have a closure of some sorts. But for those still missing, the wait is just as agonizing as when the news about the sinking broke out and realizing that their child was on that boat.

Let's just hope that, although it's sad to finally come to terms with the fact that the probability of finding a survivor after all these days is almost nil, their bodies would be finally recovered and be finally laid to rest. And that those responsible, such as the crew and the management that ignored the safety of passengers and risked the seaworthiness of the vessel in exchange for profit, would be brought to justice. And most important, that everyone in the maritime industry and government's emergency response teams would learn from this disaster.

Last week, I joined the thousands of people who joined in expressing their hope and prayers for the return of those still missing by writing them on yellow ribbons and tying them on the cords by the Cheonggye Stream. Parents, kids, office people and even international tourists took time to join the whole country in mourning. 

I watched people tie the yellow ribbons on the cords, which then swayed in the cool spring breeze as if to let the wind carry those messages, bringing it to their recipients wherever they may be.

But sadly, as I write this tonight, the search for the missing still continues and the mourning for those confirmed dead is observed in all corners of the country. 

For now, we don't know when the search will be over, but do join me in expressing this simple message... 

                "We are all waiting for you to come home..."