[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Twenty-eight bereaved families of the Sewol ferry sinking and 55 mourners from related organizations visited the disaster site on the 10th, ahead of the 8th anniversary of the tragedy, to hold a memorial ceremony on board a ship.
The families and mourners boarded a 3,000-ton patrol vessel prepared by the Coast Guard and calmly arrived at the disaster site. During the memorial ceremony on board, the families held a single chrysanthemum and faced the direction where the buoy marking the Sewol ferry sinking site floated. They each threw chrysanthemums and yellow flowers into the sea with heartfelt prayers. The Coast Guard also sounded a solemn ship horn to honor the victims.
Kim Jong-gi, the operating committee chairman of the 4·16 Sewol Ferry Families Association, said in his eulogy, "The nightmare day, the tragic day of the disaster that should never have happened, comes again every year without fail." He added, "It has already been eight years, but the journey to the disaster site remains painful and difficult."
He continued, "Until the day when such absurd tragedies no longer repeat and the world becomes safe, we will never stop or give up. Dear families, let us gather a little more strength for our children."
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