4·16 참사 기억·기록운동의 전개과정과 의미-2014년 ‘세월호 참사’ 시민기록위원회의 조직과 활동-

Abstract

The Sewol ferry disaster that we witnessed began to be recorded even before April 16. The recording already began when the students of Danwon High School were making preparation for a school excursion. The mobile phone inside the Sewol ferry was recording every moment of the tragic day exactly as it was. The record already began to be left behind when Sewol ferry of Chonghaejin Marine Co., Ltd was preparing to depart from the port. The lax system and operation of government were also recorded, such as sloppy response of Korea Coast Guard(KCG) and Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries(MOF). The media reports inundating the nation distorted the moment of disaster on that day. As the government was responding to the disaster, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries(MOF) scuttled and manipulated the first and second report on the submersion of Sewol ferry, the disaster that put all citizens into great depression. All of related public institutions hesitated to disclose the records and even turned out to have discarded the records without authorization. The records left behind by the victims of the ferry capsizing, missing persons, survivors and their families tell the truth about the ferry disaster. The pre and post-disaster records on that day tell the truth about the disaster, along with various activities before and after the disaster. Every moment recorded by victims, missing persons, and survivors of the ferry disaster constitute proper evidence revealing the truth of the disaster that left many people dead. In addition, the whole processes of fact-finding and healing represent the true record of the catastrophic disaster. It is unprecedented that as many as 6 million people joined the signature-collecting drive in such a short period of time, reflecting tremendous attention of the public. The most important records that the Citizens Record Committee seek to archive, collect and preserve are the records left behind by victims, missing persons, survivors and their families. The Record Committee intends to document, collect and preserve the records left behind from the perspective of victims, missing persons, survivors and their families. Of course, the records on the truth are important records for the disaster. The records made by related public institutions, companies, and organizations are the records that absolutely need to be preserved to show the disaster in its true light. The related public institution should take action to leave behind the records thoroughly without arbitrarily destroying their records, not merely paying the lip service. Furthermore, they have to actively disclose their records to the families and organizations investigating the disaster. More stringent regulations need to be enforced under current circumstances, although various laws and statutes prohibit arbitrary destruction of records and stipulate preservation of evidences in accordance with procedures. In addition, there are the remembrance records made by citizens. Temporary incense-burning altar, government's official joint memorial altar, local government's memorial altar, citizen's memorial altar, Sewol remembrance message in streets, Sewol remembrance yellow ribbon constitute the records of the tragic disaster. The remembrance records embody sincere mind of individual citizens and is testament to individual pledge of citizens to commemorate the victims of capsized passenger ship Sewol as pan-citizen phenomenon, playing an important role in remembering and overcoming the disaster. All records will have unique value and document the disaster and show the moments before and after the disaster, despite the diversity of records such as handwritten letter, post-it sticker, state-of-art equipment, video, photograph, characters, digital, oral statement, etc. Those records will reconstruct the event to reveal the truth of the disaster and will be vital for the process of healing and overcoming. The Citizens Record Committee decided to donate all records and deliverables that it had collected and managed. It will be fully prepared to prevent theft, loss, leakage and protect privacy, and furthermore seek prior consent of the Family Steering Committee before the records are disclosed. Records related to the disaster will be put together from multiple sources and concentrated in places arranged for honoring the victims, missing persons, survivors and their families. For Ansan, it is very important that related capability need to be developed into the capability of Ansan citizens and Ansan civil society groups. The Citizens Record Committee was narrowly launched with an aim to operate for the next decade and will need more professional manpower, facilities, and equipment in the period ahead. The records of Sewol ferry disaster will become historic records in the next 10 to 20 years, and through that, a lot of research results are expected to be achieved, producing new generation researchers. I hope that historians and recording professionals would actively participate in this process and give encouragement.