Sewol commemoration ceremony was held on May 16 at the Student Union Building to pay tribute to innocent victims of the Sewol ferry disaster as well as to look back on current structural problems and to acknowledge the reality so that similar tragic events do not occur again.
Sewol ferry, carrying hundreds of Danwon High School students as well as other civilians, capsized and sank in the middle of the sea on its way to Jeju Island, which led to an unfortunate loss of lives, putting the entire nation in a state of shock, sorrow, and frustration. Consequently, the majority of universities have cancelled their festival schedules as a message of sympathy and condolences; the Annual Sunrise Festival in POSTECH, scheduled to be held on May 15-17, was also cancelled.
The commemoration program started at 9.30 A.M. with a fire drill at the Residential College for approximately ninety minutes to remind students of safety precautions one must never forget in the case of an emergency. The commemoration ceremony was then held to express feelings of collective guilt and to pray for Sewol victims who perished in the accident. At 2 P.M., immediately after the lunch, a seminar on safety, having a sense of responsibility, and media ethics- each spoken by Prof. Daniel Suh (CiTE) and Professor Jinhee Kim (HSS)- took place for two hours to ensure that mistakes or any irresponsible behavior of the Sewol ferry crew would not be seen again. False reports on the Sewol accident from various media/sources also highlighted the importance of media ethics. There was also an open discussion session regarding recent issues on Sewol tragedy for Postechians and guests to exchange their thoughts and opinions.