KCP Monthly - November 2026
By Eun Byoul Oh
Messages of remembrance for the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster and support from the public preserved in the "Danwon High School 4.16 Archive”
“기억은 힘이 세지” –Memories are powerful
4.16 Foundation Remembering Sewol Ferry Tragedy.
On November 5, 2026, UNESCO’s The Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific (MOWCAP) announced that the record of high school students who tragically lost their lives in the 2014 Sewol Ferry tragedy will be added to its Memory of the World Asia Pacific Regional Register.
“The ‘Danwon High School 4.16 Archive’ contains 235,220 items documenting the everyday lives of the students, who made up most of the 304 people killed when the ferry sank during their school trip to Jeju Island, as well as the public’s mourning and the recovery efforts of bereaved families and survivors. They include an April 2014 calendar from a classroom and a school trip itinerary found after the ferry was salvaged.”
Records of Sewol ferry victims, Joseon cookbooks join Unesco Asia-Pacific register – Korea JoongAng Daily November 5, 2026
For this month’s Editor’s Note, I wanted to reflect on the power of memories, and Korean Culture Project Monthly’s mission to share the many voices and memories of our community. I struggled a bit on deciding what to share with the community this month, but upon reading the news about The Danwon High School 4.16 Archive joining UNESCO Memory of the World Archive inspired me to talk about memories.
Memories are interesting. Some memories stay with a person for a lifetime, some memories fade. We get trapped in some memories, and some memories we cling onto so that we will never forget them. Some memories are painful, and some memories are bittersweet. However, remembering those who passed, and allowing their legacy to live on may be the duty that we bear as the living, as it is our privilege to live through the time that the deceased did not get to see.
Memorial Ceremony was held on October 29, 2026 in Seoul, Korea.
Korea, as a nation, has experienced ongoing national trauma for decades, and, unfortunately, tragedies have never stopped for them. The Sewol Ferry tragedy, the Itaewon Halloween Crush, and Jeju Air Flight 2216 are the most recent nationwide incidents that Korea is currently still trying to process. The nation continues to mourn and remember through showing solidarity with the survivors and surviving families.
However, there are also voices of disapproval and resentment regarding how some historical events are remembered. The recent portrayal of Gwangju Uprising on the Netflix K-drama Doctor X has reignited conversations on how the victims of historical incidents are remembered. While it is really important to tell historic stories with caution and respect, I believe some stories have to be told repeatedly, so that we never forget.
As always, our newsletter team will embrace the mission to archive stories of Korea and Korean-Americans in the U.S. through this newsletter, and we will not shy away from remembering Korea’s history, talk about current events in Korea, while we search for answers to what the future of Korea may bring. We hope that you, the readers, will continue to read our newsletter and resonate with our mission. KCP will continue to reflect on Korea’s past in the hope of shedding light on what comes next for the country and what it means for the Korean diaspora in the U.S.
Thank you Celeste for sharing your story with us! Please read powerful essays of Celeste, Jon, and April in this month’s issue!
In this month’s KCP Monthly, we are honored to present personal stories of our community members - we are featuring personal essays by our adoptee students’ to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month in November. On behalf of KCP Monthly team, I want to thank those who were willing to share their stories with our community. Your stories are so meaningful to us, and we know these stories can reach others whose experiences relate to yours.
Our adoptee section leader, Jon, also prepared a special article for us in honor of the National Adoptee Month!
For our history section this month, we reflect on Korea’s 1997 Financial Crisis, which was also called the IMF Crisis, as we reflect on some current uncertainty in Korea’s stock markets.
The November Dosan Hakdang Book Club will read Park Min Young’s novel Plant Lady. The RSVP link is here. We hope to see you at the book club! Some of our recent book club discussions have been really fun and eye-opening for our book club members.
We also prepared a classical music playlist for you that suits the fall mood. The playlist was inspired by our Hunter High School volunteers.
You can see recaps of our latest events in October and November in our community article.
On a slightly different note we are excited to report that the Keurida documentary team, partnered with KCP - is currently filming in Korea and continuing our journey to answer the question of “What Does it Mean to be Korean?” The film aims to answer that question through reflecting on Korea’s history but also meeting the new generation of Koreans, capturing the ever-evolving definition of Korea.
Lastly, this November we witnessed some historic changes in the U.S.. Although it will take time for us to know what these changes will actually mean in the future, it certainly has made some huge waves, and we strongly heard voices calling for change. The tears of social minorities and immigrants were seen and heard. The lives that have been lost were not forgotten.
Memories are powerful and time will reveal the truth - as long as we remember.
With warmth and solidarity,
Eun Byoul Oh
