Sewol fathers end journey, eagerly await meeting with Pope Francis

Victims families hoping the pope can remove the “big stone in the way” of them finding justice and peace

By Jeong Eun-joo, Hankyoreh 21 staff reporter

Two fathers who both lost their youngest sons in the Sewol tragedy took up the cross for a 38-day, 800-kilometer journey on foot to meet Pope Francis.

Lee Ho-jin, 56, and Kim Hak-il, 52, arrived at their destination, the World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, at 9 am on Aug. 14. Their sons, respectively named Seung-hyun and Woong-gi, were second-year students at Danwon High School in Ansan when they lost their lives in the tragic sinking in April.

The two fathers were in Daejeon to attend the Pope’s mass for the Feast of the Assumption on Aug. 15.

“I can’t even sleep,” Lee told a Hankyoreh reporter on Aug. 14. “It’s an excitement I haven’t felt since the tragedy.”

“It still doesn’t feel real,” Kim said.

When the two men left their home city of Ansan, Gyeonggi Province on their journey, it was still unclear if they could even attend the mass, let alone meet with the Pope. But as news of their pilgrimage spread via social media, the list of volunteer companions began to grow. By the time they passed Gwangju, it was well over 500.

Lee and Kim’s attendance at the Aug. 15 mass in Daejeon became definite when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea Committee for Justice and Peace began giving active support for the group. Meanwhile, the Pope agreed to meet separately after the mass in the vestry with eleven family members of Sewol victims, including the two fathers.

Lee and Kim’s plan was to bring the Pope the 130-cm long, 6-kg wooden cross they carried on their trip, along with seawater from off the port of Jindo, where the sinking occurred. They started off from Danwon High School in Ansan on July 8, passing through the provinces of South Chungcheong, North Jeolla, and South Jeolla provinces before reaching Jindo’s Paengmok Port twenty-one days later on July 28. The next day, they traveled to the scene of the accident and collected seawater in a plastic bottle. They began their trek again on July 30, traveling 20 to 30 kilometers a day before reaching the World Cup Stadium sixteen days later.

The reasons for their pilgrimage were spelled out on four flags. “Back to their families now,” read one of them. “A special law to find the truth,” said another. “Pray and never forget,” said a third. “Together forever with praying hearts,” said a fourth.

The numbers of flags grew with every provincial border passed. Another one added when they came back up from Paengmok Port read, “Your Holiness, don’t forget the 304 who are now stars in the sky” - a reference to the number of lives lost in the sinking.

“The cross and the seawater hold the spirits and suffering to the 304 Sewol victims, and the hopes of the public,” Lee explained, adding that he planned to ask the Pope for a “prayer for the Sewol victims” when he delivered them.

“I’d like to leave the cross in the Pope’s study so the children can hear the word of God,” said Kim. “And I’d like the seawater to be sprinkled in his garden so he meditates with every footstep there.”

“The Bible contains the passage about the death of Lazarus,” Kim added. “When Jesus sees that Lazarus has died, he calls for him to ‘come out’ in front of a tomb that’s blocked by a big stone, and Lazarus comes walking out.“

“Right now, the victims’ family members feel like there’s a big stone in the way called the politicians and the media,” he continued. “We’re going to ask the Pope to help take it away.”

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