hankyoreh

By Jin Myeong-seon, staff reporter

The Blue House and the ruling Saenuri Party (NFP) hold the key to passing the special Sewol Law, but they were not the ones who responded to the long hunger strike of Kim Young-oh, 47, father of Yu-min, a female student who died in the Sewol tragedy. On Aug. 28, Kim’s 46-day hunger strike may have come to an end, but the hunger strike has not ended for the people in the tents at Gwanghwamun Square who share with the victims’ families the desire to provide the fact-finding commission with the authority to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the tragedy.

Ordinary Koreans who sympathize with the suffering of the Sewol victims were the first to respond when Kim Young-oh ended his hunger strike. When the press conference was held to announce the end of Kim’s hunger strike on the morning of Aug. 28, Kim’s tent was empty, but the other tents were packed with people on sympathy hunger strikes.

“It occurred to me that the things I take for granted in my everyday life are what the victims’ families miss the most. The more time went by, the sorrier I felt. When Kim ended his hunger strike, people seemed to think that everything was over. It seemed like this was being taken to mean that people were no longer demanding that the commission have the investigative and prosecutorial authority. I came here to show that the struggle for the special law is not over,” said Lee Chang-soo, 39, who works as the youth pastor at a church.

“One man who declined to identify himself used his lunch hour to take care of the hunger strike camp with his wife, who works at a corporation based in Gwanghwamun. “Although his hunger strike has ended, we haven’t achieved the goal of passing the special Sewol Law. Citizens must take over Kim Young-oh’s hunger strike,” the man said.

Oh Soon-deok, 77, is an elderly woman who came to Gwanghwamun Square from Jeonju without telling her family. “I wanted to physically share in the suffering of the hunger strike. I’m not educated, so I can’t express my feelings in words, but the people have a duty to help the families find redress for their wrongs.”

By noon, two hours after registration opened on Thursday, more than 140 people had joined the hunger strike, and by 3 pm the number had passed 250. Considering that an average of 100 to 150 people take part in the fast each day, Thursday was the day when the most people participated in the fast.

The majority of the participants had been sent by organizations - associations in the comic, film, and theater industries; writer guilds; religious groups; and political parties - but a fair number of people had come as individuals, too. Moon Tae-woong, 25, a university student, is participating in the fast at Gwanghwamun for the second day in a row. He came after reading what Kim Young-oh posted on his Facebook page. “I got frustrated because nothing seemed to be changing despite Kim’s hunger strike. That’s when I decided to take part,” Moon said.

Bitter words were directed at the Blue House, which has remained silent for the duration of the hunger strike.

“The Sewol ferry is an issue that we cannot yield on. Politicians only try to find consensus or compromise. President Park is not even meeting the bereaved families who are so desperate to see her,” said Kim Chang-gyu, a pastor with the Presbyterian Church of Korea who is in the fourth day of his fast.

“The president made some promises to the bereaved families. It’s an issue of basic trust, and I was so disappointed to see her not reacting at all. Yielding is what the person in a position of power is supposed to do. Asking the powerless to yield is the same as demanding them to submit,” said Park Heung-seok, 31.

“President Park was not just missing for seven hours. She has been missing throughout the more than 100 days that have passed since the Sewol tragedy. Artists are the ones supposed to do art. The government is doing the most horrendous kind of art,” said Myeong Ji-hyun, a fiction writer who took part in the hunger strike on behalf of the Korean Writers’ Association.

“I wish the president would just show up now. It’s not normal for the president of the country to not show her responsibility in this way,” said Kim Chae-won, 20, a university student from Incheon who came to Gwanghwamun to join in the hunger strike.

Kim Young-oh’s hunger strike is over, but the people’s hunger strike is only just getting started. “We of course wanted to support Kim Young-oh’s hunger strike, but the goal is the legislation of the special Sewol Law. Even though Kim has brought his hunger strike to an end, we will continue ours until the special law is passed or the tents are taken down,” said Jeong Gi-young, vice chairman of the Korean Association of Comic Story Writers. Jeong was sent by the association to take part in a relay hunger strike, which is now in its eighth day.

In the case of film professionals, around 600 actors, directors, assistants, and producers used a social activity application for mobile phones to set up a relay hunger strike, for which they are currently accepting applications. So far, they have people lined up through Aug. 31.

Bang In-seong, 60, another Presbyterian pastor, began a 40-day hunger strike on Aug. 27, the day before. “Looking at the attitude of the Blue House and the ruling party, it doesn’t look like this issue is going to be resolved any time soon. Religious figures will continue the hunger strike on behalf of the bereaved families to ensure the commission will be given the authority to investigate and prosecute.

　

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