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By Nam Hyun-woo
ANSAN — Citizens prayed for students and teachers of Danwon High School, who were killed in the sinking of the ferry Sewol ferry, at a joint memorial altar, Wednesday.
The altar is in the Ansan Olympic Museum Gymnasium, which is just across from the school.
Photographs of 49 students and teachers were placed on it as of noon Wednesday.
Citizens, friends of the bereaved, and high school students queued in a long line to lay chrysanthemums on and before the altar.
Each of them lowered their heads and wept as they prayed for the peaceful rest of the souls of the departed. It was a somber atmosphere of grief and emotion.
The portraits of the deceased were placed at the bottom of the altar designed to accommodate some 240 photos memorial plates. Most of the spots remain empty.
Some of the mourners lamented that these would soon be filled with additional photos of victims amidst the ongoing recovery operation at the site of the accident.
The size of the altar reflected the severity of the tragedy.
On a huge screen to the left, photos of the victims with their names were displayed. The word "late" prefacing each of the names was a painful reminder of the young lives lost in their prime.
On a separate screen on the right, text messages sent by citizens expressing condolences to the bereaved families were shown. Many messages expressed grief and deplored their deaths. One message read "I'm so sorry for doing nothing for you."
A man who is believed to be an acquaintance of Kim Cho-won, a Danwon High School teacher who perished in the accident, was seen sobbing before her portrait.
The gym was flanked with flowers having ribbons with the names of politicians and the region's influential figures. A conspicuous flower sent by an anonymous citizen, read: "I hate the government. I'm so sorry."
Around noon, many workers from nearby offices also came to pay their respects.
"I have nothing to say. Those young ones perished in the cold and dark sea. Those responsible for this tragedy should come to see what they've done," said Lee Jung-hoon, 37.
Several eulogies were written in the book of condolence opened at the gym.
"It does not matter who visited here and who paid condolences here. What's important is we are all sad and praying for their repose," Lee said.
Streets in Gojan-dong were flooded with banners bearing prayers for the repose of the victims. Neighboring streets were also congested with the vehicles of the mourners attending the memorial at the gym. Most people in the city were clad in mourning attire, showing the sense of grief that has engulfed this community.
"I visited the altar because the family living upstairs has not been home since last week," said Park Myung-sook, 46, said. "And I found that the boy I used to see in our apartment complex was here (the altar)." she said while wiping away tears.
The sense of shared loss in this community can be felt in this town, where many low-rise apartments are huddled back to back.
The temporary altar will be operated until April. 28. An official altar will be set up on April 29 at Ansan Hwarang Park.
On Wednesday, 25 students' coffins were moved out of 11 hospitals in Ansan. So far, the funerals of 48 victims have been held.
