Marking the three-year anniversary of the sinking of the Sewol ferry Sunday, Korean artists have released songs to pay tribute to victims of the tragedy that took 304 lives.

Jo Kwan-woo on Friday released his latest single, “Pray for You,” dedicating it to the victims and their bereaved families. The song expresses the longing toward a deceased loved one.

“I pray for you so that you will never hurt again and rest in peace,” Jo wrote in a message via the Facebook page of his agency JCOM Entertainment.

Sung Jin-hwan of quartet Sweet Sorrow on the same day released a live recording of “We All Go Separate Ways Someday.”

“I wrote the song three years ago when the Sewol tragedy happened,” Sung said in a media interview.

Sewol plunged to the bottom of the sea on April 16, 2014, leaving 295 dead and nine unaccounted for. Most victims -- including four whose bodies are still missing -- were high school students en route to a field trip.

“Although the ship was salvaged, someone is still waiting for (bodies of) their family members to return. I sang this song in hopes that such a painful goodbye will not happen again, and nothing about (the Sewol tragedy) will be forgotten,” he said.

Kim Jang-hoon last week released “Gwanghwamun,” paying tribute to the square in central Seoul that has hosted large-scale protests and vigils in the country, including those dedicated to Sewol victims. Kim, who has been in forefront of artists speaking against the government’s moves on Sewol-related issues, said the song was inspired by the tragedy.

Earlier in the month, renowned producer Kim Hyung-suk released a tribute song for the Sewol ferry’s child victims, for which he collaborated with Na Yoon-kwon and politician Moon Jae-in. Na provided the vocals and Moon narrated the messages to the child victims, which were in a YouTube-released video version but not included in the officially released audio version.


By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)