Two years ago in 2014, April 16th, a ferry sank off the south coast of Korea, taking with it the lives of more than 400 people. The majority of the passengers were Danwon high school students, heading to Jeju Island, unaware of the danger ahead of them. The 'Sewol accident' was renamed the 'Sewol homicide' after a video was released of the captain abandoning the ferry before even informing the passengers of emergency. In 2015, the captain was found to be guilty of murder and he was sentenced to life in jail after two trials. Outraged and disgusted by the lack of responsibility on the part of not only the captain but also the Korean government, families of the victims and several experts are fighting to uncover the truth behind this unsolved tragedy--even to this day. Let's review the three things that the media is not telling you about the horrific disaster that happened in 2014.

1. The Korean government is restricting the freedom of press. More than you think.

Although South Korea is known to be a democratic nation, Reporters Without Borders ranked the freedom of press level in Korea 70th out of 180 countries. A few weeks ago, a recording file was released regarding the Sewol incident, which accurately illustrates the level of involvement the Korean government has in the press. A member of Congress secretly called the Korean public broadcasting company, KBS, and threatened the press director from broadcasting news that criticized the Korean government and the national marine police.

"I can just make up words when they ask me the details. But don't broadcast anything about us to the public," the Congressman said.

Restricting the freedom of press is ultimately the same as restricting the rights of the general public to know. Why do we have laws in the first place if people can abuse their power to censor the press, and ignore the fundamental rights and still go by unpunished? The Korean people had every right to know about their own national problems from their own broadcasting program, instead of hearing pieces of details from foreign broadcasting companies. The dishonesty and irresponsibility of the Korean government has led many natives to feel betrayal, hatred and distrust towards their national leader and the Congress.

2. 400 tons of iron found in the ship basement.

Recently, a few experts suggested that the sinking process may have been expedited from overloading the ferry with 400 tons of iron. According to Media Today, a Korean newspaper company, Sewol ferry was initially used as a cargo ship, delivering freight to and fro Incheon and Jeju Naval Base for construction. In order to speed up the construction process, 400 tons of iron were loaded along with 476 passengers and 1,400 tons of general cargos, 130 tons of which were placed in Deck C, where the weight can deteriorate the stability of the ship. As the ferry tilted to the left, the first thing that fell were iron and H-beams. However, the 400 tons of steel were recorded as 246 tons on Cheung-Hae-Jin shipping company's official documents. It is widely known in Korea that Cheung-Hae-Jin shipping company is the only one that is required to report marine accidents to the national government. Although the government has not announced any official position on the fabricated documents, many experts question the involvement of the Korean government in erasing official records related to Sewol ferry.

3. The Sewol Act met with controversy

After the terrifying "accident" took place, relatives and friends of the victims urged the Korean government to pass the Sewol Act, to efficiently unearth the real cause of the sinking ferry. After the act was in effect, surprisingly, the general public slowly started to turn their backs on the victims. Those who oppose the Sewol Act demanded that Sewol Act granted both investigation rights and indictment rights to the relatives of the victims, which goes against the Korean justice system completely. However, unlike the beliefs of some people, the Sewol Act is a perfect solution to solve the issue within the boundaries of Korean law. Even if the victims' families are granted investigation rights and indictment rights, it's the lawyers, judges and other law experts in the special investigations committee that have the rights to investigate and to indict, not the families of the victims. Therefore, The Sewol Act would not only speed up the pace of investigation, but also would be free from government involvement and still carry out investigations to uncover the truth as a public institution.

Another reason why some people oppose the Sewol Act is because it grants too much compensation to and takes care of medical expenses for families of the victims. But if you compare it to the survivors of Daegu subway incident, the majority suffered from intense trauma, unable to live a normal life, and the Korean government did not show any support towards these people. Therefore, wouldn't it be necessary to provide financial aid to survivors and families of the victims to help them overcome the traumatic experience? Do you really think that it's a waste for the society to provide the victims with the only safety device they can give?

Although a few people have strived for the truth, no tangible evidence has been found for nearly two years. Whether you have been constantly interested in this issue or only had a spark of interest when it caught the headlines on CNN or you have heard about this incident for the first time, just keep in mind that the families of the victims need our continuous interest. As of right now in Korea, entertainment news are used as a cover-up for numerous political issues and problems. Therefore, it is crucial for the general public to show more interest in issues like this, that can affect individuals in the near future, instead of scandals, celebrities on drugs etc, to prevent further censorship of the press by the Korean government.

The families and friends of victims do not need money or fame. Instead, they yearn for people they can trust to tell them the truth about what happened that day. If the Korean government cannot do that, then who will? So please, Korean congressmen and President Park, I beg you, stop trying so hard covering up the truth and spend more time listening to what the people in your country actually need.