"Danwon High School 4.16 Archive": A Record of Responsibility and Change

Lee Jiseong, Director of the 4.16 Memory Archive, Presents to MOWCAP
Highlights Pioneering Disaster Records Led by Those Directly Affected and the Public

Records compiled directly by families of victims of the Sewol ferry disaster and members of the public have been put forward for review in the Asia-Pacific region.

Lee Ji-sung, director of the 4.16 Memory Archive, speaks at the 11th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), held at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta on the 4th (local time).

The UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) held its 11th General Meeting at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta on the 4th (local time), where records nominated for inscription were presented.

The “Danwon High School 4.16 Archive” was introduced by Lee Jiseong, director of the 4.16 Memory Archive. He described it as a record of memory viewed from the perspectives of civil society and the bereaved families. At its heart are classroom records, diaries, and accounts of the final lessons in the lives of Danwon High School students and teachers, left on their desks. It also includes citizens’ memorial activities and the process of social healing experienced by bereaved families and survivors. Lee said, “Danwon High School students and teachers account for 86% of the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster.”

The archive contains a total of 235,220 items. Lee said, “They are the culmination of a memorial process that students and bereaved families have sustained for more than 1,000 days.” He emphasized that the records should be preserved because trauma can be overcome through memory, which can in turn lead to social action to ensure that safety education is implemented as a requirement.

The archive is organized into seven categories: records of the disaster site; records documenting the personal lives of victims; records of survival and recovery; Danwon High School classroom records; records of efforts to preserve the classrooms; oral history records; and records of citizens’ mourning and global solidarity. The records were collected and organized in accordance with the International Council on Archives (ICA) Code of Ethics.

Lee Jiseong, director of the 4.16 Memory Archive, speaks at the 11th General Meeting of the UNESCO Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP), held at the National Archives of Indonesia in Jakarta on the 4th (local time).

Lee emphasized that the value of these records lies in who created them and how they are used. He described them as “a pioneering example of disaster records led by those directly affected and members of the public, and a contemporary model showing human solidarity and recovery after a disaster.” He also noted that the archive combines student safety with educational values and offers an educational approach to overcoming disasters.

Lee said that to preserve these values, the records had been fully digitized and integrated into a database. Public access is provided in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. The archive is managed in a specialized facility equipped with temperature and humidity controls and an anti-theft security system.

Lee said, “We hope these records will go beyond documenting grief to document responsibility and change, and that they will be preserved as a shared memory for a safer world and passed on to future generations.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.