My hometown is Daegu. Now, I stay in Cheongju because of university, but during vacation, I stay in Daegu with my family. The downtown of Daegu is called Jungang-ro, which is the best place to hang out with someone. I often go there with my younger sister or friends. One day, I wanted to go to Bulgogi restaurant, so I used the subway. I used to use the bus, but that day I used the subway because the subway is faster than the bus.
I went to Jungang-ro station and something caught my eye. On February 18, 2003, Jungang-ro station had a big incident. A mentally handicapped man took gasoline and lit a fire. 192 people were killed and 148 people were wounded in this incident. It was a tragic accident, and some of my friends¡¯ family members got injured in that incident. I saw the aftermath of the fire at Jungang-ro station. Anyone can see the burned walls with doodles on them because the walls are now preserved in glass cases. One of the doodles says, ¡®I miss you already, daughter.¡¯
At that time, I thought that I had a common feeling with the other people who passed that station. I thought that time stopped. Then, I suddenly thought about an article about a conflict between the Sewol Ferry bereaved families, who want to preserve memory classrooms, and the school administrations, who want to remove the memory classrooms because they think the living must live. Before, when I went to Jungang-ro station, I thought that incident was sad. However, I also thought that looking at the preserved memory classrooms makes the survivors feel guilty and that preserving the memory classroom is not a good idea. However, when I saw Jungang-ro station, which was doodled on, I changed my mind.
If we don't memorialize these events, we might forget about those incidents. Many incidents have passed. The Sampoong Department Store collapsed and the Seongsu Bridge also collapsed. Jungang-ro station was burnt and many boys and girls died, but nothing changed. However, when I saw Jungang-ro station, I thought it could also happen to me or a person whom I love. We should preserve, feel and regret about those tragedies.