The End of 1,315 Days of Long Separation
There are five Sewol victims whose bodies never made it back to their bereaved families’ embrace. The families proceeded with belated memorial services for the unrecovered bodies, putting an end to the three-year-long search.
The capsized Sewol ferry claimed a total of 304 people in April 2014, mainly high school students, in Korea’s southwestern coast. The vessel was raised onto dry land in March this year.
Animal-friendly Shelter
Amid the continuing aftershocks of an earthquake in Pohang, some people chose to remain outside, because pets are not allowed in the emergency shelters.
After Hurricane Katrina swept the U.S. in 2005, 44 percent of people chose to not evacuate because pets were not allowed into shelters. As a result, the U.S. Congress passed a legislation to provide pet-friendly emergency shelters with federal funds.
A Requiem for the Unwritten History
A two-story memorial hall to remember the undocumented story of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese troops during World War II will formally be opened to the public in January next year.
The two-year-long construction was brought to completion in November with the support of the House of Sharing, a shelter for sexual slavery victims.
Earthquake-stricken Korea
An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.4 struck Pohang, a southeastern port city in North Gyeongsang Province. The natural disaster swept across the peninsula on Nov. 15, a day before the annual national college entrance exam. For the safety of the test-takers, the Ministry of Education postponed the CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test), suspending their long-awaited emancipation.
A British cook cooks on Korean TV
Gordon Ramsay, an internationally-renowned chef from the U.K., made an appearance on the JTBC television program “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator,” which aired in December. On the cooking show, he prepared a dish in 15 minutes only using ingredients from the refrigerator of the owner, or the special guest awaiting the meal.
Coming Soon: PyeongChang 2018
The official mobile application that provides the most up-to-date news and information on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 was launched in November. The app is available from both the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store in five languages: English, French, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Catalyst for Change
Zanu-PF, the ruling party in Zimbabwe, sacked President Robert Mugabe as its leader, putting an end to 37-year-rule. Emmerson Mnangagwa, the former vice president who had been fired by Mugabe two weeks ago, was appointed the new leader.
Beauty of Undefinable Beauty
A Romanian photographer Mihaela Noroc released a photography book titled “The Atlas of Beauty: Women of the World in 500 Portraits,” publishing her online project to capture the beauty found in authenticity and diversity.
Taken during her four-year travel around the world, the selection portrays women of all ages, professions and backgrounds, showing that there is no definition of beauty.
By Lee Sei-yon
Editor-in-Chief