“When we left the scene, there were small birds in the rain and wind. Those tiny birds… were flying around… in the storm. The birds were so tiny and beautiful. And their call so touching...But it sounded like the students’ wailing, asking me not to leave them behind.”

— Kim Gwan-Hong, Civilian Diver (1973-2016)

On the evening of April 15, 2014, the MV Sewol departed Incheon Port for Jeju. There were 476 passengers on board, including 325 students from Danwon High School. At 8:40 AM the next day, the Sewol started to sink. When the captain escaped, more than half the passengers were still on board. By 10:35 AM, all but the bow of the ship was underwater. After rescue operations had concluded, more than 300 passengers had died.

So much went wrong with the Sewol. At 8:52 AM the first distress call was sent it out and it wasn’t until 43 minutes later that a single patrol boat arrived. There were seemingly endless opportunities for someone, ANYONE, to speak up and take control. Yet, the communication between the Captain and the students, the Sewol and the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Martime and President Park was so consistently poor that rescue operations moved along at a snail’s place in a completely inept manner. It is difficult to imagine how it could have been handled any worse.

We often think of the government as this mythical institution that has its citizens’ best interests at heart. It can be trusted to ensure our safety during a crisis. The government simply would not let a ferry carrying hundreds of students sink, would it? Ultimately though, the government is just an assortment of human beings. Human beings who, for one reason or another, were chosen to be part of the machine. And humans are not infallible. They make poor decisions and act selfishly. They err.

To complete this Journal response, address the following:

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." What is a lesson you’ve taken away from the Sewol tragedy?
- Critical Thinking Challenge: What role did Korean culture play in this incident?
Comment on a peer’s response.

-Brenden Lee Teacher

#114, Sewol