• Why novice sailor turned sharply

    The ferry Sewol was sailing through the Maenggol Straits, one of the most treacherous stretches of water in Korea due to the fast-moving tidal currents, before it capsized Wednesday. At the helm was a novice 25-year-old third mate surnamed Park, who had never navigated the notoriously difficult route off the…

    Read More »

  • Bodies pulled out of Sewol

    Disaster area declared The death toll rose sharply over the weekend as divers started recovering bodies from the submerged ferry Sewol. No survivors were found despite desperate search-and-rescue operations. Out of the total 476 passengers and crewmembers, 174 were rescued and 58 have been confirmed dead, while 244 still remained…

    Read More »

  • Death toll confirmed 64

    The death toll from a sunken ferry off South Korea’s south coast rose to 64 early Monday as search operations were set to resume for a sixth day following the disaster. Hopes of finding any survivors were fading rapidly as none of the 302 missing passengers have been found alive…

    Read More »

  • Korean government loses trust

    Families attempt protest march to Cheong Wa Dae JINDO — Over 100 people tried to make their way to Seoul to see President Park Geun-hye Sunday morning. Most of them were family members of those still missing from the ferry Sewol that sank Wednesday morning. They were angry that the…

    Read More »

  • Collective insensitivity to safety

    Once again human error was behind the nation’s biggest maritime disaster in over two decades. Experts said Friday that the capsizing of the ferry Sewol involved violations of many regulations and poor safety precautions practiced by its crew and enforced by the government. On top of the captain and other…

    Read More »

  • Death toll rises to 36, no new survivors found

    JINDO ― Only sobs and moans sounded in a gymnasium in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, where friends and family of passengers who went missing in the ferry Sewol’s accident gathered to watch a video clip of two divers going underwater and attempting to enter the ship, Saturday. The video, however,…

    Read More »

  • 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…

    Read More »

  • Five-year-old girl the only survivor of family

    Among the youngest survivors rescued from the ferry Sewol that sank off the southwestern coast was a 5-year-old girl, and her story touches many. Her mother, father and older brother are still missing. The girl, identified as Kwon, is being taken care of at Hankuk Hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla…

    Read More »

  • Captain, gov’t under fire

    The captain of the ill-fated Sewol ferry is the focus of public outrage after it became known that he and six other crewmembers were among the first to be rescued when the vessel was sinking. Captain Lee Joon-seok, along with a chief engineer surnamed Sohn and other crews, was escaped…

    Read More »

  • Hope pinned on divers

    Tragedies create heroes and heroines and the sinking of the ferry Sewol, off the country’s southwestern coast Wednesday en route to Jeju, is no exception. Among them, military and civilian divers could deserve the biggest praise as they work around the clock with the hope of saving the almost 300…

    Read More »