Palisades Park library creates memorial for South Korean ferry victims

All the messages are written in small post-it notes on a bulletin board in the Palisades Park library and addressed to those who perished hundreds of miles away in South Korea when a ferry capsized and sunk into the Yellow Sea on April 16. Hundreds were killed, including teenage students from Danwon High School on a school trip to the resort island of Jeju.

“We wanted to put this up as soon as we could do something,’’ said Susan Kumar, director of the library, where hundreds of yellow ribbons have been distributed. “We wanted to represent the feelings of everyone.”

Palisades Park is home to more than 10,000 residents who are of Korean heritage, according to the 2010 census. They represent more than half, 51.5 percent, of the towns total population of 19,622, according to the census.

Although library staff said they had not heard of anyone in town being directly impacted by the tragedy, they said residents are still affected.

“This is a tragedy for everybody,’’ said Deputy Library Director Jason Kim, a former borough councilman who was the first Korean elected to that governing body. “Anyone who has children, this shouldn’t happen. We understand their agony.”

Recovery efforts are ongoing with 176 survivors, and 74 passengers still unaccounted for; 228 have been declared dead. Among those on board were 325 high school students.

Kim said that some of the Korean adults who have placed notes on the board blame themselves for not having a better system in place to help passengers on board, and keep children safe.

“I’m sorry that we couldn’t keep you alive,’’ one orange post-it note in Korean read. “I feel ashamed as an adult.”

Others referenced the young lives lost.

“To young friend,’’ one yellow post-it written in both English and Korean reads. “Our thoughts & prayers are with you all the time. In heaven fulfill your dreams.”

Samantha Kim, 18, a senior at Palisades Park Junior Senior High School, has cut and distributed around 700 yellow ribbons in her school. Her efforts began days after the ferry sunk, she said. At first, she gave them to friends and family, and then took them to school.

“At first the yellow ribbons were a symbol of hope,’’ said Kim, who will start college at Rutgers University in the fall. “Now the yellow ribbon shows support for their families so they know that we are praying for them.”

Kim, who was born in the United States but who has gone to South Korea to visit extended family, said she constantly checks news and social media sites for the latest information about the rescue efforts.

“I’m going to college this year and a lot of kids who died were high school students,’’ she said. “This hits close to home. They were going to start a new chapter in their lives, and now they can’t.”

Jason Kim, the deputy library director, said that the plan is to send the notes to Danwon High School, so that staff and students can know that Palisades Park residents share in their grief.

Email: alvarado@northjersey.com