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Three years have passed, the president has been impeached, and the Sewol ferry has finally been raised from the cold depths of the Yellow Sea.
On April 16, 2014, the Sewol sank offthe southwest coast of South Korea, drowning 304 people out of the 476 on board. Most of the victims were students from a single high school-Danwon High School in Ansan City-on a junior year field trip to Jeju Island. The nation watched live updates in horror for days and nights as rescue missions were continuously delayed and victims came back in the hundreds, pale and lifeless. Television networks canceled programs and every news update reported yet more numbers of people confirmed to be dead. The ferry sank deeper. South Korea mourned.
Considered one of the most traumatic events in modern South Korean history, the Sewol tragedy has become a national symbol of collusion between regulators and industry, immoral journalism, and government incapacity in South Korea these last three years. Rescue procedures during the sinking were noticeably haphazard, slow, and frustrating. Half of the 172 survivors were rescued in unofficial fishing and commercial boats...