Koreans， officials gather in Jindo to commemorate Sewol－ho ferry tragedy 팽목항에서

A year has passed since the sinking of the Sewol－ho ferry... that left more than three hundred people dead， mostly students... and plunged the country into a state of shock and sorrow. Our Kwon Soa was at Paengmokhang... harbor on Jindo Island，... where thousands of people commemorated the first anniversary. Paengmokhang harbor off the south coast of Jindo Island. Last year， the victims′ families gathered here， calling out to loved ones trapped on the sunken ship. Now， this port has become a place for them to remember the 304 people who died onboard the ill－fated ship. ″This port， the nearest point of dry land to the sunken ferry， is a sea of yellow， the symbolic color of the tragedy. Though a year has passed，... Paengmokhang harbor will remain a site of grief，... especially for the families of the nine people still missing.″ And that′s why there have been unrelenting calls to raise the ship′s wreckage. On Thursday， President Park Geun－hye went to the harbor and addressed the appeals for recovery. ″It hasn′t been long since the announcement that it′s feasible to salvage the Sewol－ho ferry. I believe that now it′s time to seriously prepare for the recovery of the ship.″ She vowed to raise the ferry in the near future and do everything possible to recover the nine missing passengers. Other politicians and officials were present at a memorial service for the victims， including Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Yoo Ki－june ， who expressed his sorrow about the tragedy. ″The government will do its utmost to prevent such a big tragedy from happening again.″ He added that the government would listen to the bereaved families and the public in regards to the unresolved issues surrounding the accident. Jindo residents and people from across the country attended the memorial service， paying their respects to the victims at an altar and taking part in prayer services throughout the day. ″It was such a painful tragedy and I felt like I have been forgetting it. That′s why I came to reminisce with my child.″ ″I came last year， and this year too. I was a government supervisor when the ferry company was being established and I was responsible for overseeing the process. It′s such a pity. If the captain had called for an evacuation nearly everyone could have escaped. That′s what I believe.″ While politicians and the public gathered for the event，... some of the families of the deceased and still missing skipped their scheduled appearance. During the memorial service， the names of the victims were shown on a screen， as yellow balloons were sent into the sky in a symbolic gesture of remembrance. Kwon Soa， Arirang News， Paengmokhang harbor.