Please, be alive

JINDO ― An odd sense of helplessness mixed with hope prevailed at Paengmok Port, Friday.

The families of more than 200 students and other passengers in the sunken Sewol ferry appeared ready to hold on to any sign of hope on the third day after the vessel capsized.

The bulbous bow of the overturned boat that served as a sign of hope for survivors was at one point completely underwater.

Experts said that having part of the ferry above the waterline meant there were air pockets inside the ship where people trapped inside might still be able to breathe.

Most of the families were weary after sobbing all night. Some collapsed to the ground.

“I’ve been here for three days and I have not eaten or slept,” said Park Geum-san, 58, who identified herself as an aunt of Park Ye-ji, a Danwon High School student who was still missing.

Park said her last get-together with her niece was in March and she couldn’t care for her as well as she had wanted. “I am regretful to the point that I can explain the depth,” she said.

Some were constantly praying.

A Buddhist monk, Buseon, 52, performed a ritual prayer hoping that all the missing would be returned safely to their families.

Five women ardently recited verses from Buddhist scriptures.

They said, “Poor children, it must be so cold out there,” sobbing.

Among the five was Lee Yong-sun, an aunt of missing Danwon student Jang Da-hye.

With prayer beads in her hand, Lee said she was hoping that her niece would be found alive. “Please, be alive, please,” she repeated.

Many people blamed Lee Joon-seok, the captain, for the accident.

Buseon called Lee’s act of escaping the sinking ship before most of the passengers as “preposterous.”

Families complained about the authorities’ inability to communicate with them about how the rescue operation was proceeding.

Kim Soo-hyeon, the chief of the Coast Guard’s West Regional Headquarters, stayed at the port to communicate with the families late Thursday, but his words did not satisfy the relatives of the missing.

One man jeered Kim. He called him irresponsible for repeatedly making excuses.

The media was also criticized for inconsistent reports, including the government’s initial tally of the number of people that had been rescued, which proved to be quite inflated.

Every time another body was found, families and friends were forced to undergo the painful process of checking whether it was one of their loved ones.

Some acted out on reporters who tried to take pictures. Yoon Sung-won, The Korea Times