‘Genuine captain who never got cowardly to the last moment’

This reporter visited a funeral parlor at Gachon University Gil Hospital in Incheon on Friday afternoon.

At the funeral room for Yang Dae-hong, 45, chief of administrative affairs for the ferry Sewol, mourners continued to line up to pay their last respect, lamenting the loss of the unselfish man. His remains are laid at this funeral parlor after being recovered at waters of the accident site on Thursday, or 30th day after the tragic sinking. Not only his acquaintances but also quite a few ordinary people, who had learned of his courageous acts through the media, were also seen paying respects.

Hanging above his portrait photo was a banner reading, “The late Yang Dae-hong was never cowardly to the last moment.” The banner seemed to reflect the emotional sentiment of the late Yang, who did his utmost to rescue even a single passenger, unlike many other crew members of the ship, including the captain, who abandoned more than 300 passengers in the cabin to save their own lives. Despite a life-threatening situation when water started flooding in the cabin while the doomed ferry was sinking, Yang rescued a cooking assistant identified by Kim and part-timer identified by Song, before perishing.

His bereaved family has decided not to receive condolence money to honor the will of the deceased, who had also always been very frugal. The family is politely declining condolence flowers sent by many people from across the nation.

His eldest brother, Yang Dae-hwan, 56, said, “Initially, I thought to myself that we could help the livelihoods of my brother’s with condolence money because his family’s economic condition is not affluent. But I suggested to my sister-in-law not to take condolence money because taking money would run counter to his intention, and she agreed after agonizing.” The elder brother said, “He never wasted even single dollar. Two months ago, he boastfully told me that he had bought a jacket at 2,000 won (1.9 US dollars) at a flea market in Jeju Island. However, he was never stingy when it comes to serving our 83-year-old mother.”

Cho Soon-jeong, a 53-year-old homemaker who visited Yang’s funeral parlor, said, “After learning his spirit of sacrifice from the media, I came here to pay my respect. I am quite surprised because the family would not take even condolence money. The deceased seems to be teaching the surviving people how to live life,” shedding tears.

There are comments on the Internet suggesting that Yang is a “sacrificing person who should be remembered,” urging the authorities to designate him as a person who died to save other people. Incheon’s Seo-gu ward office will submit application to designate him as a person who perished for others to the Health and Welfare Ministry next week.

His funeral ceremony will take place at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, and his remains will be buried at Bupyeong Cremation Cemetery in Incheon.