One of the two Sewol-ho ferry disaster memorial sites that the current administration has promised to keep is the now-upright Sewol-ho Ferry in Mokpo, not far from the location of the sinking.
And our Won Jung-hwan is at the site to tell us why thousands of people still come out to remember the victims of the tragedy.
So Jung-hwan, first of all, what's the atmosphere there right now?
Hi Ji-yoon, as you can see behind me,… there is a clear view of the 6-thousand-8-hundred-ton Sewol-ho ferry, which sank in the waters off Jindo five years ago today.
Yes, today marks the 5th anniversary of the Sewol-ho ferry disaster.
And to commemorate the tragedy,… people have come to pay their respects at the Mokpo New Port.
As the yellow ribbons flutter near the port, people visit the area and sigh as they look out at the ship's hull.
There's been a lot of tears and heartbreak as the visitors recall the tragedy,… and I got a chance to hear from some of the people who are here for the victims who died five years ago.
As a parent who has children, it is just painful to think how much pain those kids had to suffer. It is a pain that cannot be erased. And that is why I come here to remember the tragedy.
I have a 7-year old child,… and I feel so sad when I think of those kids inside the ferry 5 years ago. Those parents would have raised their kids with such efforts as I raise my child now.
Thanks Jung-hwan. We remember that the ferry was brought to the port on a recovery ship some two years ago. Since then, the remains of four of the nine unrecovered passengers were found over the course of the three subsequent searches. And the search is now finished right?
Yes, the search of the ferry is now finished,… but the pain for the families and friends of those victims will continue for much longer than we can possibly imagine.
We can see a banner with photographs of the five undiscovered victims.
And as well as that,… many still feel core questions surrounding the disaster remain unanswered: What caused the sinking and why the government didn't initiate the rescue mission immediately?
Let us hear the frustrations of those victims.
"Every time I come here I think why the government didn't try to save them. They had enough time to save them but why."
"Now the government's role is to reveal the truth. Five years have passed, and the government needs to help the victims to get over their traumas."
But some say the collective mourning and reflection on the disaster has changed Korean society.
The recent successful tackling of the wildfire in Goseong and Sokcho is representative of such changes.
Indeed, some could say the Sewol-ho ferry sinking has left a legacy,… that citizens' lives and safety should come above anything else.
That is all from me from Mokpo, back to you.