JINDO, South Jeolla Province -- Several hours after rusted parts of the sunken Sewol ferry’s structure finally emerged from the waters on Thursday, the mother of a victim still missing at sea wept aloud at the port nearest the wreckage on the island Jindo.
“I really miss you, my son. I hope he gets out of the freezing water and meets me here,” the mother of Yang Seung-jin, a teacher at Danwon High School in Ansan, told The Korea Herald at the Paengmok port.
“How handsome my son is! He was a good son, father, husband and teacher. Who would have known if he would just die like this?”
The mother of Yang Seung-jin, not accounted for since Sewol ferry disaster, calls her son's name in grief at Paengmok Port (Son Ji-hyoung/The Korea Herald)
The ferry, which has been trapped underwater for 1073 days, began to be appear above the water at around 4 a.m., seven hours after a Chinese consortium began to salvage the ship Wednesday night. It is expected to arrive at Mokpo Port in two weeks, if things go as planned.
The victims’ grieving families went out to oversee the salvage proceedings on a boat while others watched the operation from the top of a hill on Donggeochado, the nearest island from the scene.
When the media reported on the lifting of part of the ship, the families hugged each other in joy in the waiting room at the port. Their joy, however, soon turned to anger as they questioned why it had taken three years.
Lim Won-yo, 55 and the father of Yo-han, a student victim from Danwon High School, said his heart was pounding as he watched the ferry finally be brought up.
“But at the same time, I am frustrated. Nothing has been done for the past three years and now finally the ferry is being salvaged. If it was this easy, why has it not been salvaged for the past years? Why only now?” he asked.
Lim Won-yo, father of student victim Yo-han (Shim Woo-hyun/The Korea Herald)
The ferry, which was carrying 476 people, sank off South Korea’s southwest coast on April 16, 2014. It killed 304 passengers, most of whom were students of Danwon High School on a school trip to Jeju Island. Nine bodies are still unaccounted for.
The government aimed to complete the salvage operation by June last year, but it had been pushed back several times due to adverse weather and technical problems.
“I shouted when I saw the ferry revealed above the water, thinking that my child can finally return home,” Lee Keum-hui, the mother of student victim Jo Eun-hwa, told reporters on the boat. Jo's body has not yet been found.
“But soon after the ferry began to be lifted, I became devastated that my poor daughter has been left in such a filthy place,” said Lee, who has been living in a makeshift home at the port to wait for her missing daugther since the ferry disaster occurred.
The mother of one of the nine missing passengers from the 2014 Sewol disaster looks at the site of the government's salvage operation in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, Thursday. (Yonhap)
Heo Heung-hwan, the father of another missing student victim Da-yoon, thanked fellow Koreans for praying in unison for the successful recovery of the ship.
“It is distressing to see the hull of the ship (as it was all rusted.) I think it is not the end, but the beginning of salvaging the ferry. I hope the ferry can be lifted in the safest way (to find the nine missing bodies,)” he added.
The victims’ families have demanded the ferry be raised intact so the bodies could be recovered and the causes of the accident come to light.
A large number of Koreans visited the port Thursday to stand in solidarity with the victims and their families while they patiently wait for the ferry to be brought back.
Parking space was scarce near Paengmok Port, as the number of visitors suddenly rose Thursday afternoon. (Son Ji-hyoung/The Korea Herald)
Lee Kwi-im, 68, traveled to the island from Gwangju to share the moment of the ferry being lifted above the surface.
"It is heartbreaking. I couldn't even eat for a month after the disaster took place. The victims are always in my thoughts," she said. "I just prayed for the successful raising of the ship. I was too nervous, so I didn't even watch TV on the way."
As she was informed that the operation had been temporarily suspended in the morning, she added, "Oh no. ... Really? What can we do..."
The operation resumed shortly afterwards.
Visitors pay respect to the victims of Sewol ferry disaster at Paengmok Port (Son Ji-hyoung/The Korea Herald)
Seo Seong-il, 53, drove to the island from Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, after hearing the news of the raising of the ferry. He expressed his hope for the smooth salvage operation.
“I am a little bit worried, but I am confident it will be safely brought back to the surface,” he said. “To Koreans, the Sewol ferry accident will never be forgotten. I hope that the truth will never be buried.”
(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com) (consnow@heraldcorp.com) (ws@heraldcorp.com)
