A survivor of the Sewol shipwreck looks back on the disaster and shares her life story

On April 16, 2014, South Korea was rocked by an unprecedented tragedy.

The Sewol Ferry sank causing 304 deaths, including many high school students on a school field trip.

9 years later, the country has not forgotten this tragedy that took the lives of so many young people.

“Nine years have passed, but the memories of the tragedy are still with us. That day we all prayed for everyone’s safe return.” Ruling People’s Power Party chief spokesman Kang Min-kuk said in a statement mourning the victims.

Some survived, but so few. Only 75 of the 323 students present survived the sinking.

On April 16, 2014, 17-year-old Yu Ga Young was present on the ferry with her high school. She was rescued and remembers that day.

“Everyone was in the cafeteria that morning and suddenly we realized the plates and desks were crooked.” she writes in her essay. At the time, they thought the boat was just spinning.

As the intercom message repeatedly said to stay where they were, Yu heard someone calling her. Then she was pulled into the hallway.

“Before I took the helicopter, I think I looked at my friends. I wonder how they looked at me, if they were mad at me for leaving first. »

It’s hard to imagine the guilt the young woman must have felt, knowing that so few survived.

She reveals that the sea is still present in her nightmares today.

She struggled with depression, insomnia, self-harm, and spent time in a locked ward at a psychiatric hospital. She once dreamed of becoming a librarian because she loved books, but after the disaster, she couldn’t read a word.

In 2018, Yu founded a non-profit organization called “Wounded Healer” to connect with other traumatized survivors who were also injured by disasters.

She hopes to give encouragement to those suffering from similar pain.

“I thank the people who have treated me without prejudice and those who have reached out to me unconditionally“, she said. Her support was the reason why she worked up the courage to write the book so that the Sewol ferry accident would not be forgotten.

This book is a way for them to put their suffering into words, pay tribute to the victims and try to move forward.

All of our thoughts on this day are with the victims and their families.