Warning: the following includes foul language, strong opinions, mentions of death. I recommend you only reading the tl;dr if you're under 13 or so.

Also note that numbers may vary. Also, this post contains my opinions as well, but I take no claim to the statistics. For more accurate news, check the sources down below or search it up. JUST IN CASE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATORS COME UPON THIS POST: I HAVE CLEARLY STATED THAT THESE CONTAIN OPINIONS. idk what else could go wrong or you may misunderstand, but I will take down/delete anything that may come off as offensive, incorrect, or inaccurate. (saying this because just in case they track me down and stuff lol i'm innocent k just paranoid)

Created: April 25, 2014. Last edited: May 17, 2014.

          I made this blog post to explain the tragedy of Sewol Ferry on April 16 2014. There were 476 people on board, 325/339 (numbers vary by article) are high school students - ok? SECONDARY STUDENTS - and the rest were crew members and teachers. Majority were secondary students that were on a grade field trip, towards Jeju Island. Okay, can you imagine this? Breezes blowing, waters swaying, etc. Great. Okay. Now imagine them dead. Around 300 (atm) students' deaths have been confirms and the rest have been marked missing. Less than 170 have been rescued (most were crew members). This 6, 825 tonne ferry capsized on the 16th of April, and what's worse is that the captain of this ship was the first to leave. Crew members and on-board rescuers left, too, leaving their almost 500 passengers. What's even worse on TOP of that, is that a staff member (assumed to be the captain) had announced to the passengers of Sewol to return to their cabins. Yeah, they all died. According to Article 10 of Seafarer's Act clearly states that the captain is not to leave until every passenger has embarked. This means it is illegal by LAW for him to leave the ship. This means that he was responsible for his passengers' lives until the very end. This coward of a captain was one of the first people to leave. Pathetic, isn't it? Not only that, but he didn't even contact other ships for help. This man has been charged with five violations. He MURDERED the dead passengers. Not by knife, not by gun, but through his actions. It is considered manslaughter. (Note that he's 69 years old. iow, a man who doesn't have 30 years to live has killed off hundreds of people about a quarter of his age who had so much to live for Yes, every life is very important, but honestly.. ==).

         It's devastating.

         A boy and girl (relation unknown) tried to survive together by tying their life jackets together. They died. The numerous, countless students that returned to their cabins on Sewol Staff's order, all dead. Their obedience led them to their death. They died for being obedient, righteous. They died for being good. The regret, the sorrow, the unfair injustice - this is horrible. What's even more malicious is that few people have been sending prank texts, reading: "I'm alive, in the cafeteria. Please save me." This is 100% fake because texts/calls/msgs/etc. can all be tracked, but there has been no signs of outgoing messages from the ship. iow, these people been sending these cruel texts that not only interferes with investigations, but more importantly, it gave false hope to families. That is so, so brutal. (One was confirmed to be a 15-year-old girl, another an 11-year-old girl. How were they raised?!?!)

          We people of the young generation may not 100% understand the full depths of sorrow this disaster brings to the entire nation. However, our parents could. Imagine the parents of those students when they read text messages reading the likes: "Mom, the water's coming to my neck, I can't breathe anymore" "I love you. I'm telling you this now, in case I can't ever tell you it again." "If I've ever wronged you, please forgive me." "Brother, I think I'm going to die today." How do you think they would feel when they find out about the corpses? Ah, the corpses - they had broken fingers. Imagine their fear of leaving this world for an eternity, of never being able to see their family or friends ever again, of never being able to live to graduation, to raising their own family. Imagine their desperation to escape, to live. Imagine a whole grade wiped. They clawed against the walls and tried to climb the floor (the ferry is sinking sideways so) and everything, anything to stay alive. SO much, they broke their fingers. It's not just one or two people, it's rooms filled with people with broken fingers. I really do hope that son of a captain feels guilty. I understand his desperation to leave, but he actually had no intent of saving the kids whatsoever. He was one of the first to leave after ordering someone to announce/announcing it himself to inform the students to return to their cabins and remain there until further notice (they all died). On top of that, he didn't contact other ships for help. He just left. The passengers only realized that they couldn't stay in their cabins anymore when it was too late. The ship was tilted too far and water was coming up to their necks until they finally drowned.

          It breaks my heart to see parents of the missing/dead scream their lungs out, hoping they'd reach their precious child out to the sea. I'm at loss, and so are many. Fortunately, awareness have been greatly raised. asdfghjkl I can't literally just wow why how andgioeqnadgfdsklmrg. These are real people guys. Just like you and me, unsuspecting of their imminent deaths. "I'll see you in a bit!" they might have said, or "I'm going now, I'll be back soon!" but they don't. Imagine just walking out the door of your home, not knowing it was the last time you did. Last time you saw your family. Last time sleeping in your room, eating home food, etc. Normal people just like you and me died. This isn't a show, it's not an act, it's not scripted. This isn't a movie, a book, anything. It's real. The number is so vast it seems surreal, but each and every one of them had a family, a home, a future, dreams, ambitions, more. Real people, individuals like us, lost their lives. Real people lost loved ones.

          I know that as a young person, I cannot fully fathom the devastation, nor understand how truly tragic this incident is, but anyone who can't feel sad about this case is heartless. No joke. It's a bold statement, but it's true. However, I have been informed about this earlier and no one I know personally has been on the ship, so again, the impact on me is less. But if even I, a young person with no personal connections to the incident, feels this much anger, sorrow, pain, and more, how greater of these feelings would the families of the dead and missing feel? I'm not asking you to be depressed over this incident. Just, please. Take a moment to pray for South Korea and the families with their loved ones missing or dead.

          So yes, this Sewol Ferry Incident is the reason why your drama isn't airing, why EXO's and other idols' comebacks are delayed, why entertainment shows aren't broadcasting, and why you see yellow ribbons/butterflies. PLEASE pray for South Korea and the families with their loved ones dead/missing.

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tl;dr

          Sewol, a Korean ferry that carried almost 500 passengers, the grand majority (70%) being high school students, sank on April 16, 2014. Around 150 have been confirmed dead with only 174 rescued (mainly crew members who freaking left without rescuing anyone or requesting help from others ships. heartless monsters) and the rest missing. In addition, the crew members and the captain were the first to leave. This is a nation-sweeping tragedy. The loss is too great for words.

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just, man. honestly. what the actual .

#prayforsouthkorea

+I'm aware that this blog post is very solemn and serious, but feel free to leave your responses if you'd like. I didn't make this to depress or intimidate you guys, but simply to bring awareness to not only neighbouring/allied countries to South Korea, but to you guys as well.

Sources:

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)

and more from direct Korean news. If you're Korean or can read+understand Korean, visit either Daum or Naver for most likely more accurate, updated, and recent news. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply to it. Or, if it's something that's more private, PM me. Thank you for reading. Please spread awareness (tag: #prayforsouthkorea) and pray for their families.

"A small movement, a big miracle..."

-deardeerhan