MV Sewol Ferry Disaster Memorials Part 1

Sooyoung Jeon (Class 2 teacher)

Sooyoung Jeon was born on the 4th of July, 1989. She was 24 when she died

Sooyoung was born in Korea, but her family soon moved to Japan, where she finished elementary school. She finished her studies in Korea, and soon graduated from Korean University's Korean Language Education department, where she had shown her talent in Korean as well as in other foreign languages. Her grandfather was a teacher, and so was her mother! She knew she was destined to be a teacher. She loved her job, and adored her students.

According to survivors, Sooyoung's mother had called her, but she didn't respond. Then her boyfriend called, but she didn't answer again, because she was more focused on helping her students get life jackets on. After all of them got life jackets, she instructed the class leader to take a good care of her friends. She then tried to find her way out of the ship, but returned to her students moments later. Without her help, more students could've died.

When her body was recovered, the divers noticed that her anckle had broken. She wanted to protect her students so bad she would keep fighting, even with an injury.

Because of her sacrifice, Korean University's Korean Language Education department has a Soonyoung Jeon lounge dedicated to her.

Her body was recovered and returned to her family. She now rests at the Hwaseong Sky Memorial Park.

Ironic...

Rest easy, you did your duty.