A Joint Memorial Ceremony Held at Muan Airport
Families Mourn the Victims of the Jeju Air Disaster
On the morning of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 29th, a joint memorial ceremony was held at Muan International Airport in Jeollanam-do, where the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster of 12·29 occurred, to honor the victims.
From Lunar New Year rice cake soup to various jeon (Korean pancakes), the holiday table setting, which would normally have families gathered around, became an ancestral memorial table with the portraits of the victims placed on it.
On the 29th, marking one month since the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster, bereaved families are bowing in front of the joint memorial altar on the first floor of Muan International Airport. Photo by Yonhap News.
On that day, Yonhap News reported on the joint memorial ceremony prepared by the bereaved families. Tears flowed endlessly from the eyes of the families as they offered drinks to their departed loved ones. The families prepared the memorial table food from the day before and bowed twice in line, about ten people at a time.
The funeral director carefully placed fruits, jeon, yugwa (traditional Korean sweets), and rice cakes offered by the families on the table. Rice cake soup, cooked that morning for the Lunar New Year, was also placed on the table. Throughout the memorial ceremony, sounds of wailing and sobbing did not cease at the incense altar.
Park Han-shin, the representative of the bereaved families, stood before the memorial table and said, “To the portraits of the 179 deceased, we offer clear liquor and food; please accept them,” and then observed a moment of silence. After the ceremony, instead of exchanging New Year greetings, the families comforted each other by patting each other’s backs.
In the afternoon of the same day, relatives of the victims also visited Muan Airport and held a tearful memorial ceremony. Afterwards, the bereaved families ate rice cake soup and exchanged New Year bows, spending the remaining Lunar New Year holiday together.
On the 29th, marking one month since the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster, bereaved families are bowing in front of the joint memorial altar set up on the first floor of Muan International Airport. Photo by Yonhap News
Park Han-shin, the representative of the bereaved families, said, “It is devastating. The entire family has been shattered, and it is impossible to feel the holiday spirit, but gathering together to hold a joint memorial ceremony has eased our hearts considerably,” adding, “We are grateful to everyone who has helped.” The representatives of the bereaved families plan to continue follow-up activities in Gwangju after the 49th-day memorial service scheduled for next month on the 15th.
Earlier, on December 29th last year at 9:03 a.m., the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster occurred during an emergency belly landing at Muan International Airport, resulting in 179 deaths out of 181 passengers, with only two survivors.
The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board is analyzing the black boxes, including the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), as well as air traffic control communication records, synchronized by time, to determine the cause of the accident. The investigation is expected to take several months.
The initial on-site investigation conducted immediately after the disaster was completed on the 20th. The wreckage, including the tail fin and engines, has been moved to a separate location where detailed investigations can be conducted. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the government agency responsible for aviation safety, is conducting a comprehensive inspection of airport facilities and airlines separately from the accident investigation. Based on this, they plan to develop a comprehensive aviation safety innovation plan.
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