'The pain has never gone away': Families remember victims of Sewol sinking at Mokpo
Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 19:41
![A memorial ceremony for the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster is underway in Mokpo, South Jeolla, on April 16. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/e27351bf-f5de-427a-b8d9-a9a2bcade1f3.jpg)
A memorial ceremony for the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster is underway in Mokpo, South Jeolla, on April 16. [YONHAP]
MOKPO, South Jeolla — Grief filled Mokpo New Port on Thursday as bereaved families marked the 12th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, breaking down in tears while remembering their loved ones.
“My beloved daughter. When I close my eyes, it still feels like you will come running into my arms, but when I open them, there is only cold air,” Choi Jun-hyeon said as he read aloud a memorial message to his late teenage daughter, Choi Su-hee.
“I love you. I will endure the rest of my life with the love you gave me. I miss you so desperately.”
About 300 people attended the memorial ceremony in Mokpo, South Jeolla, including bereaved families, civic groups and politicians such as Cho Kuk, leader of the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, and Democratic Party Rep. Kim Won-i. Families of victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush and the 2024 Jeju Air crash also attended, sharing in the grief.
Mokpo New Port is where the salvaged ferry is currently docked. The site was also used for search and recovery operations for missing victims in the aftermath of the disaster.
Ordinary mourners also visited the port on Thursday, leaving messages such as “Please don’t be in pain” and “Rest in peace” on yellow ribbons tied to a fence. Some prayed with clasped hands or bowed their heads in silence while looking at the ferry through the fence.
“Whenever I come to Mokpo for work, I visit Mokpo New Port where the Sewol is," Kim Han-soo from Namwon, North Jeolla, told the JoongAng Ilbo. "It’s usually a quiet and lonely place with only yellow ribbons fluttering in the wind, but seeing so many people here today for the 12th anniversary makes it even more heartbreaking.”
![A bereaved family member of the Sewol ferry disaster throws a chrysanthemum into the sea at Jindo County, South Jeolla, on April 16. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/b58126d2-0ab1-4421-9202-7b3cad729609.jpg)
A bereaved family member of the Sewol ferry disaster throws a chrysanthemum into the sea at Jindo County, South Jeolla, on April 16. [YONHAP]
Earlier that morning, 39 bereaved family members boarded a Mokpo Coast Guard vessel in Jindo County, South Jeolla, and paid respects at the disaster site, marked by a yellow buoy. They scattered chrysanthemums and cherry blossoms into the sea, mourning the victims, while some called out their children’s names in anguish.
“I come here every year, but it feels just like the day of the accident. The pain of that day has never gone away,” Kim In-sook, the mother of the late Jung Da-hae, said. “It feels like my daughter could appear at any moment, but 12 years have already passed.”
More memorial services were held across the country as the nation marked the 12th anniversary of the tragedy.
In Seoul, a memorial ceremony was held at 4:16 p.m. — symbolizing the date of the disaster — in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Council building in Jung District. A nearby citizen-led rally was also underway.
Gwangju set up a public memorial altar at the May 18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu.
![President Lee Jae Myung attends at a memorial ceremony for the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking in Ansan, Gyeonggi, on April 16. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/dde3e3a3-a31f-4dc1-8860-f9de08746641.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung attends at a memorial ceremony for the 2014 Sewol ferry sinking in Ansan, Gyeonggi, on April 16. [YONHAP]
Various commemorative events also took place in Ulsan, Jeju Island and Gyeonggi.
The Sewol ferry sank on April 16, 2014, in waters off Jindo County while en route from Incheon to Jeju. Of the 476 people on board, 304 died or remain missing, including 261 high school students and teachers on a school trip.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HWANG HEE-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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