SEOUL - Public elementary, middle and high schools in Seoul will voluntarily observe Educational Community Safety Week in memory of the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, marking a decade since the tragic event, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education on April 14.

The Seoul Education Office will distribute educational materials related to the tragedy to all public schools in the city during this year’s National Safety Day week from April 16 to 26.

The schools will also voluntarily host a week of remembrance to commemorate the disaster.

According to the Seoul Education Office, it has guided the public schools it manages to host a variety of memorial events, including memorial ceremonies, writing letters to those who passed away, hanging yellow ribbons, and hosting discussions under the themes of human rights and safety. Yellow ribbons are commonly used to express sympathy with and condolences over the deaths of the victims of the Sewol ferry sinking.

“The Education Office will continue to mourn the victims (of the Sewol ferry tragedy) and strive to create a safe educational environment,” said Mr Cho Hee-yeon, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

On April 16, 2014, the Sewol ferry capsized off the south-western island of Jindo in South Jeolla province, resulting in the deaths of 304 out of the 476 people on board.

Of the fatalities, 204 were high school students on a field trip to Jeju Island. April 16 was designated as National Safety Day by the government shortly after, to remember the importance of public safety.

At Doksan High School in Geumcheon-gu, in western Seoul, a student group will play a video in each classroom in memory of the students who died. Commemorative messages will also be written on yellow ribbons and butterfly-shaped post-it notes and posted on each floor of the school. Yellow ribbon keyrings and badges will be handed out to students.

Students of Younglim Middle School in Guro-gu, in western Seoul, will also march together to the Statue of Peace near Guro Station, where a memorial festival organised by the school’s student council will take place. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK