Three years after the Sewol ferry sank, the families of nine missing passengers are still waiting for their loved ones to return home.

Like most of the other passengers, six of the nine -- four students and two teachers -- were on a school excursion to the southern resort island of Jeju. Three others, including a father and his 7-year-old son, were on their way to the island where they hoped to start life anew.

The following are their stories based on memories and information provided and compiled by their relatives and support groups.

Yang Seung-jin, teacher at Danwon High School (57)

Yang was last seen giving his life vest to a student and calling out to students to evacuate the ship. He then went to reach more students inside.

These last actions reflected his personality as a caring teacher, colleague and husband. The 57-year-old social studies teacher was a strong person who could be depended on, recalled his co-workers and wife. Teaching for 30 years, his motto was pretty clear: to be responsible for them.

He created a small orchard behind the school building to plant apple trees and Eastern prickly pear trees, where he would care for the trees with his students. He planned to create a scholarship for students lacking financial support with profits made from selling the fruit. His wife and two children, a daughter and a son, still await for their husband and father to return.

Go Chang-seok, teacher at Danwon High School (40) Go always dressed in a suit and a tie and had his hair waxed at school. Some would say it was acceptable to wear gym clothes as a physical education teacher, but he refused to do so, regarding it as a serious subject.

His students said they were not surprised to find out that he didn’t swim out of the sinking ferry, even though he was a skilled swimmer with a lifesaving certification.

A father of two young sons, now aged 11 and 9, he always made time for his family. He was also caring and romantic, sending bouquets of flowers to his wife’s office for her birthday and anniversary every year.

Cho Eun-hwa, student at Danwon High School (18) Cho was a straight-A student who received top scores on exams. She wanted to become an accountant. She was also a kind daughter who would never make her mother worry, her mother Lee Geum-hee said.

Since Cho was lost in the cold sea in 2014, Lee and her husband have practically moved to Paengmok Port, the nearest point to the wreck site, to wait for her daughter to come back.

“I am a grieving mother who is still living that day, begging for the life of my child,” Lee said.

Heo Da-yun, student at Danwon High School (18) Heo was a lively and warm-hearted student who wanted to become a kindergarten teacher. As a devout Christian, the 18-year-old would do volunteer work every week to look after children from multicultural families.

She was mature enough to take care of her sick mother, who suffered from a rare disease, and never asked for anything that would burden her parents, her father recalled.

Heo often met him at the subway station as her father home from work and loved to walk her dog Kkambi and go shopping with her older sister.

Nam Hyun-cheol, student at Danwon High School (18)

Nam was a talented musician and member of the school’s vocal club. He could play the guitar well and wrote the lyrics for a song co-written with his friend, Lee Da-woon, another victim of the disaster. The song, “My Dear Love,” was later revised and released by ballad singer Shin Yong-jae. The profits from the song have been used to help the victims of the incident.

Nam was a fourth-generation only son. His mother still remembers the first time she taught her son to shave. “Those daily life episodes that were once trivial are left as some of the strongest memories for me now,” she said.

On Nam’s guitar, his father wrote, “My son. I am grateful and proud that you are my son. We love you forever, Please come back home.”

Park Yeong-in, student at Danwon High School (18) Park was an athletic student and member of the school bowling club. He also had passion for soccer. Unlike some other teenager boys his age, he was very close with his parents and loved to go on family trips, his mother said. “My child would also help with household chores,” she said.

Park would spend time with his father, particularly attending baseball games.

While his soccer shoes still await him at Paengmok Port in Jindo, only his bag with his school uniforms was recovered.

Kwon Jae-geun (50) and his son, Hyeok-kyu (7)

Kwon’s family was on board the Sewol ferry to move to start a new life on Jeju Island. They planned to start an orchard there. However, only his youngest daughter Ji-yeon, who is now 9 years old, lives on.

Kwon’s Vietnamese wife Han Yoon-ji, 29, was found dead. Kwon and his son, Hyeok-kyu, are still missing. Witnesses said Hyeok-kyu, 7 years old, had given his life vest to Ji-yeon.

Lee Young-sook (51)

When Lee boarded the Sewol ferry, she had just purchased a new house on Jeju Island where she hoped to live with her son after over a decade of living apart.

After her husband died, she struggled to make a living and had to leave her son to live with her in-laws.

Now, her 35-year-old son awaits his mother’s return.

By Jo He-rim ()


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com