Yellow Ribbon Campaign and Sewol Ferry Protest Movement

West The use of yellow ribbons originates in the West, where they were used as a symbol of support for military troops by anti-militarist peace activists in countries such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark during the 1970s. == Sewol Ferry Protest Movement ==

Sewol Ferry Sinking On 16 April 2014, the Sewol, a ferry carrying 476 passengers and cargo, capsized off the southern coast of South Korea. The significance of the symbol further evolved as people found out that these deaths could have been prevented and began to question and rebel against the government's incompetence. In the follow months, the campaign gained further momentum as families of the victims adopted the yellow ribbons as their main symbol for protesting against the government. Evolution The yellow symbol was a crucial factor in the advancement of Sewols commemoration development. In the beginning of the movement, mass gatherings featuring yellow ribbons, flowers, and candles were held to express hope for survivors. This hope soon evolved into grief and mourning as it became clear that victims would not return from the sunken ferry. Then, the yellow ribbons became an anti-government symbol as mass commemoration gatherings evolved into political protests expressing discontent against the South Korean government resulting from suspicions that the tragedy could have been avoided had the government been less irresponsible and corrupt. The yellow ribbon continued to be used as a prominent symbol signifying the demand for proper investigation of the ferry's sinking and effectively engaged the public for the next three years that eventually led to the impeachment of Park Geun-hye. In one protest, protesters marched to the headquarters of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) to criticize the public corporation's distorted reports of the disaster. Then, the protest was taken to the Blue House, where the Korean president lives, to demand political neutrality of the Truth Commission proposed by former president, Park Geun-hye. This protest at the Blue House lasted for 76 days and the protesters moved to Kwanghwamun Square, a space of historical and political significance. Families of victims began fasting to urge authorities to adopt the Sewol Special Law that calling for proper investigation of the disaster and political reforms to avoid future tragedies. People flocked not only to Kwanghwamun Plaza to show solidarity and grief, but also virtual spaces, including YouTube and Facebook, where they posted photos and videos of their own fasting and yellow ribbons . In one hunger strike camp in Kwanghwamun Square, supporters started making yellow ribbons for mass distribution in stations called the "Ribbon Factory" where volunteers handmade small yellow ribbons. All over Korea, people protested with banners that read 'Life before profit' or 'People before money,' implying that the government prioritized profit over the lives of the victims. When the response of the state continued to be inadequate for the people, protesters' grief turned into anger at the government, prompting a petition-signing that aimed to collect 10,000,000 signatures. Impeachment of Park Geun-hye In 2017, three years after the Sewol Ferry Sinking, the former president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, was removed from office. During the months leading up to this momentous event, the yellow symbols of Sewol commemoration were always present on political slogans and impeachment demonstrations. Sewol family members always led the marches and their speeches were commonly incorporated in the protests. in 2016, a 30-foot-tall art installation called huimang chotbul ("the candle of hope") was placed in Kwanghwamun Square. This statue, serving as a combination of both Sewol protest and impeachment efforts, was covered in yellow ribbons on which citizens wrote their hopes for a better Korea and messages to the victims of the sinking. The sinking of the Sewol was a key driving factor of the former president's impeachment, as people questioned the president's whereabouts during the capsizing of the ferry and demanded political transparency from their state. In this way, the yellow ribbon's significance evolved to represent re-democratization in South Korea. Contention Wearing the yellow ribbon became categorized by authorities as a form of activism and rebellion, signifying anger at the "disappearance and failure of the state" during the sinking. The government asserts that the yellow ribbon became a political symbol rather than a commemorative, emotional expression. As a result, the Korean Ministry of Education banned the use or display of yellow ribbons in schools. Although a group of students submitted a complaint to the National Human Rights Committee, stating that they have the freedom of expression and conscience, the complaint was rejected. Wearing the symbol outside of schools caused conflict as well. For example, when former president of South Korea Park Geun-hye was impeached, her supporters targeted those wearing the yellow ribbons for harassment, which sometimes turned violent. Even years after the sinking, the contention around the symbol continued. For example, during the beginning stages of the Candlelight Movement, a member of a conservative church in Seoul was removed from the congregation for wearing the yellow ribbon. In addition, because the yellow ribbons were strongly associated with protest, those who supported the government refused to wear this emblem. == Circulation ==

Virtual As one of the world's most highly connected societies, South Korea experienced a new form of political participation through the Internet in the early twenty-first century. Mass protests formed on the Internet and driven by youth became an effective and common way of activism in South Korea. Naver, Korea's national search engine (equivalent to America's Google), featured a black ribbon on a yellow background with the caption, "One Small Step, Big Miracle" and launched an online ribbon campaign with the National Disaster Relief Association in order to raise funds for the victims' families. Politicians from liberal factions showed their solidarity by wearing yellow ribbons. These ribbons were commonly distributed for free by two biggest producers: a workshop called the Yellow Ribbon Factory in the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) building and the "Sewol Square" in Kwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Every Wednesday, the Yellow Ribbon Factory opened itself to the public and produced hundreds of little yellow Sewol ribbons per session, which are picked up by other civic organizations and distributed to the public for free. These ribbons were made of yellow foam boards cut into 7 mm-wide strips that are twisted and glued into ribbon-shapes and attached to a metal chain. The color yellow symbolizing hope and solidarity took other forms as well, including yellow hats, fans, handkerchiefs, bracelets, cell-phone stickers, keychains, balloons, depictions of butterflies, paper life-boats, t-shirts, and linen brooches, often featuring a yellow flower and the number 4.16 signifying the date of the ferry disaster. The ten abandoned classrooms of the 250 students who died during the sinking became known as the "memory classrooms" where families, relatives, and classmates left drawings and messages on the blackboards and turned the desks into altars. Another key site of Sewol memory activism is the Kwanghwamun or Kwanghwamun Plaza in the heart of Seoul, where people volunteered every day to handmade yellow ribbon charms in large tents and distribute them to supporters for the purpose of continuing the public display of solidarity, demanding to reveal the truth behind the disaster. Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, a key space for activism, also became a sea of yellow in the following weeks after the disaster. The chainlink fences and trees at the vigil location Paengmok Harbor on Jindo Island, the land closest to the location of the ferry's capsizing, were densely covered with yellow ribbons, serving as another key site of Sewol memory activism. Two commemorative protests sites including the community cemetery at Mangwoldong in Gwangju and the activist community in Gangjeong Village also became immersed in yellow ribbons to display solidarity to the victims' families. The Mangwoldong community cemetery in Gwangju was a site of Koran democratization where casualties of the 1980 Gwangju Massacre were initially buried and the activists in Gangjeong Village oppose the newly constructed Jeju Naval Base which they believe will cause a war in the future. == See also ==