Sewol Ferry Seminar Proposal
April is approaching once again, and I feel truly ashamed that I am still talking about the Sewol ferry. On the morning of April 16, 2014, even before watching the news, I sensed the gloomy atmosphere that hung over this land. The next day, I watched live as the ship sank completely underwater. Yet all I did then was share and retweet a few articles with messages like 'We are all Sewol'. Then came May, June… That year brought me so many new and exciting experiences, and honestly, my memories of the Sewol ferry were absent from them. And what about the following year? I attended a Sewol ferry bereaved families meeting at Sogang University, wore the Sewol ferry bracelet I received there, and participated in the first anniversary memorial service. Shocked by the memorial, I think I even transcribed Park Min-kyu's ⟨The Blind Men's Nation⟩, telling myself I mustn't forget the Sewol. But that too was brief; I simply returned to my daily life. I did like the 416 Solidarity Facebook page, but I didn't pay attention to the news posted there. That's why I feel endlessly ashamed. When I wonder if I truly have the right to speak about the Sewol, my headache only worsens. Had Guo Nianshu not suggested we hold an April seminar together, my shame would likely have lingered endlessly, its very reason unknown to me.
They simply call it an accident. They say it has nothing to do with you. Then where does this shame I've felt intermittently since April 2014 come from? Why have I carried this inexplicable shame for two years?
The April Sewol Ferry seminar begins with this 'shame'. The reason for my shame surely lies with the Sewol Ferry. That is why I propose we watch together ⟨Sewol Ferry: The Record of That Day⟩ (The Power of Truth). With over 600 pages, reading it cover-to-cover together might be too much. So, as the one bearing the brunt of this shame, I will prepare a selection of sections for us to watch together. The seminar will follow the book's table of contents. We will start with the records of the 101 people aboard the Sewol ferry off Byeongpungdo Island on April 16, 2014, to understand what truly happened that day. We will explore why not a single person was rescued, why the ship sank, how the Sewol became "the most dangerous ship in South Korea," and finally, whether it could have been saved.
For the entire month of April, let us look at the 'Sewol Ferry' not with emotion, but with reason, through the record of facts. Perhaps the shame I've felt all this time was just prolonged pity. If we look at the facts with true shame, can we get closer to the truth of the Sewol Ferry? I don't know yet. I think it would be good if we could gather together and share a little of that weight of truth.