The Unsettled Meaning of Suffering after the Sewol Ferry Tragedy

In many cases of disaster, the why questions arise: Why did the disaster happen? Why did the victims die? Why should the bereaved suffer with their loss? This project explores how these why questions are dealt with differently by the state, social scientists, and victims’ families. It focuses on the 4.16 Sewol Ferry Tragedy, a ferry disaster in South Korea that killed 304 people, including 250 teenage students. By expanding insights from the cultural sociology of disaster and suffering, this project explores how the state, social scientists, and victims’ parents struggle to find the meaning of suffering.