True Story met with the families of the victims of the Sampoong Department Store disaster.
On June 29, 1995, Hong Young-hee's daughter Lee Kyung-sun went to work as usual but did not return home due to an unexpected accident. On the same day, Jin Ok-ja also lost her beloved daughter in the same accident. Even after 30 years since the disaster, the two meet weekly to share their pain. What happened to them?
▶ The fallen department store and the missing daughters
The accident that befell the two daughters was the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in 1995, a tragedy that plunged the entire nation into sorrow. Thirty years ago, a department store in the heart of Seoul collapsed, trapping countless lives in the rubble, and the two daughters could not return to their families' arms. However, shortly after the disaster, the debris from the building where the missing persons were believed to be was moved to the garbage landfill known as Nanji Island. At that time, Hong Young-hee and Jin Ok-ja scoured the rubble at Nanji Island, trying to find even a trace of their daughters, but ultimately could not find any evidence of them. The total number of victims from the Sampoong Department Store collapse disaster who remain unfound is 32.
▶ The small hope of the families of the missing persons
A memorial tower for the victims of the Sampoong Department Store collapse was erected in 1997, not at the disaster site, but in Yangjae-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. However, the two mothers believe that the souls of the unidentified missing persons linger in Noeul Park, which was once the Nanji garbage landfill. Concerned that the memory of the Sampoong disaster will fade over time, they say that they have a wish for the city of Seoul. What could that wish be?
Even after 30 years since the disaster, the families of the victims of the Sampoong Department Store collapse still hold onto the hope that their daughters might return, and their stories will be shared tonight (17th) at 9 p.m. on MBC's True Story.
[Photo] Provided
[OSEN]