Eo Slava (Russian: Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Serkov) was born on September 23, 1997. He was a member of the 10th grade class #4 at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea. He lived for 16 years, 6 months and 24 days.
Vyacheslav, nicknamed 'Slava' by his friends, was the son of a Russian mother and Korean father, who met in Korea in 1996. They moved back to her hometown of Cherkessk, where they got married and had Slava a year later. Slava's full name, Vyacheslav, means 'precious one' in Russian. They moved to Korea in 2006, where Slava's little brother was born. Slava spoke Korean, English and Russian, but he very much felt that he was completely Korean. He was much more at ease in Korean schools, and he got better grades there. Slava's original dream was to represent South Korea in swimming competitions, but because of his nationality, he had to change his dream, and decided to become a model instead. According to his friends, he was a happy, friendly, silly and intriguing person. When the accident happened, Slava had recently applied for Korean citizenship, and he was anxiously anticipating his acceptance.
Slava was a victim of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. The ferry Sewol was en route to Jeju Island from Incheon, South Korea, when it capsized on April 16, 2014. The majority of the 476 people on board were 10th graders from Danwon High School who were traveling to Jeju Island for a school field trip. When the ship started to sink, the crew ordered everyone to stay in their cabins and await help. Slava and most of the Danwon students on board obeyed the crew and remained in their cabins, passing the time by taking pictures and joking around with their friends. However, the coast guard only rescued those who'd come out on deck and didn't even attempt to rescue anyone inside the ship. The Korean government, ashamed at how the event unfolded, blocked volunteer rescuers and made excuses as to why rescue efforts could not continue. By the time they started recovery efforts, they were only finding bodies. There were hundreds of high schoolers, teachers and other passengers inside the ship and not a single one of them survived. The majority of them were still alive during the three hours it took for the Sewol to sink, recording videos of their ordeal and banging on the windows, begging to be saved - but they all eventually drowned or died of hypothermia. Those kids had trusted adults with their lives and were literally left to die. 304 people died in total, with 250 of them being Danwon High School students. The Sewol Ferry sinking was one of the most heartbreaking and senseless maritime tragedies to have ever happened. The students’ loved ones are still looking for answers as to why those 250 beautiful children had to die…and those answers may never come.
Slava's body was recovered and returned to his loving family on April 22. He is now resting at the Ansan Sky Memorial Park.
Thank you to Debra for sponsoring Slava's memorial!
Vyacheslav, nicknamed 'Slava' by his friends, was the son of a Russian mother and Korean father, who met in Korea in 1996. They moved back to her hometown of Cherkessk, where they got married and had Slava a year later. Slava's full name, Vyacheslav, means 'precious one' in Russian. They moved to Korea in 2006, where Slava's little brother was born. Slava spoke Korean, English and Russian, but he very much felt that he was completely Korean. He was much more at ease in Korean schools, and he got better grades there. Slava's original dream was to represent South Korea in swimming competitions, but because of his nationality, he had to change his dream, and decided to become a model instead. According to his friends, he was a happy, friendly, silly and intriguing person. When the accident happened, Slava had recently applied for Korean citizenship, and he was anxiously anticipating his acceptance.
Slava was a victim of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. The ferry Sewol was en route to Jeju Island from Incheon, South Korea, when it capsized on April 16, 2014. The majority of the 476 people on board were 10th graders from Danwon High School who were traveling to Jeju Island for a school field trip. When the ship started to sink, the crew ordered everyone to stay in their cabins and await help. Slava and most of the Danwon students on board obeyed the crew and remained in their cabins, passing the time by taking pictures and joking around with their friends. However, the coast guard only rescued those who'd come out on deck and didn't even attempt to rescue anyone inside the ship. The Korean government, ashamed at how the event unfolded, blocked volunteer rescuers and made excuses as to why rescue efforts could not continue. By the time they started recovery efforts, they were only finding bodies. There were hundreds of high schoolers, teachers and other passengers inside the ship and not a single one of them survived. The majority of them were still alive during the three hours it took for the Sewol to sink, recording videos of their ordeal and banging on the windows, begging to be saved - but they all eventually drowned or died of hypothermia. Those kids had trusted adults with their lives and were literally left to die. 304 people died in total, with 250 of them being Danwon High School students. The Sewol Ferry sinking was one of the most heartbreaking and senseless maritime tragedies to have ever happened. The students’ loved ones are still looking for answers as to why those 250 beautiful children had to die…and those answers may never come.
Slava's body was recovered and returned to his loving family on April 22. He is now resting at the Ansan Sky Memorial Park.
Thank you to Debra for sponsoring Slava's memorial!
Eo Slava (Russian: Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Serkov) was born on September 23, 1997. He was a member of the 10th grade class #4 at Danwon High School in Ansan, South Korea. He lived for 16 years, 6 months and 24 days.
Vyacheslav, nicknamed 'Slava' by his friends, was the son of a Russian mother and Korean father, who met in Korea in 1996. They moved back to her hometown of Cherkessk, where they got married and had Slava a year later. Slava's full name, Vyacheslav, means 'precious one' in Russian. They moved to Korea in 2006, where Slava's little brother was born. Slava spoke Korean, English and Russian, but he very much felt that he was completely Korean. He was much more at ease in Korean schools, and he got better grades there. Slava's original dream was to represent South Korea in swimming competitions, but because of his nationality, he had to change his dream, and decided to become a model instead. According to his friends, he was a happy, friendly, silly and intriguing person. When the accident happened, Slava had recently applied for Korean citizenship, and he was anxiously anticipating his acceptance.
Slava was a victim of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. The ferry Sewol was en route to Jeju Island from Incheon, South Korea, when it capsized on April 16, 2014. The majority of the 476 people on board were 10th graders from Danwon High School who were traveling to Jeju Island for a school field trip. When the ship started to sink, the crew ordered everyone to stay in their cabins and await help. Slava and most of the Danwon students on board obeyed the crew and remained in their cabins, passing the time by taking pictures and joking around with their friends. However, the coast guard only rescued those who'd come out on deck and didn't even attempt to rescue anyone inside the ship. The Korean government, ashamed at how the event unfolded, blocked volunteer rescuers and made excuses as to why rescue efforts could not continue. By the time they started recovery efforts, they were only finding bodies. There were hundreds of high schoolers, teachers and other passengers inside the ship and not a single one of them survived. The majority of them were still alive during the three hours it took for the Sewol to sink, recording videos of their ordeal and banging on the windows, begging to be saved - but they all eventually drowned or died of hypothermia. Those kids had trusted adults with their lives and were literally left to die. 304 people died in total, with 250 of them being Danwon High School students. The Sewol Ferry sinking was one of the most heartbreaking and senseless maritime tragedies to have ever happened. The students’ loved ones are still looking for answers as to why those 250 beautiful children had to die…and those answers may never come.
Slava's body was recovered and returned to his loving family on April 22. He is now resting at the Ansan Sky Memorial Park.
Thank you to Debra for sponsoring Slava's memorial!
Vyacheslav, nicknamed 'Slava' by his friends, was the son of a Russian mother and Korean father, who met in Korea in 1996. They moved back to her hometown of Cherkessk, where they got married and had Slava a year later. Slava's full name, Vyacheslav, means 'precious one' in Russian. They moved to Korea in 2006, where Slava's little brother was born. Slava spoke Korean, English and Russian, but he very much felt that he was completely Korean. He was much more at ease in Korean schools, and he got better grades there. Slava's original dream was to represent South Korea in swimming competitions, but because of his nationality, he had to change his dream, and decided to become a model instead. According to his friends, he was a happy, friendly, silly and intriguing person. When the accident happened, Slava had recently applied for Korean citizenship, and he was anxiously anticipating his acceptance.
Slava was a victim of the Sewol Ferry tragedy. The ferry Sewol was en route to Jeju Island from Incheon, South Korea, when it capsized on April 16, 2014. The majority of the 476 people on board were 10th graders from Danwon High School who were traveling to Jeju Island for a school field trip. When the ship started to sink, the crew ordered everyone to stay in their cabins and await help. Slava and most of the Danwon students on board obeyed the crew and remained in their cabins, passing the time by taking pictures and joking around with their friends. However, the coast guard only rescued those who'd come out on deck and didn't even attempt to rescue anyone inside the ship. The Korean government, ashamed at how the event unfolded, blocked volunteer rescuers and made excuses as to why rescue efforts could not continue. By the time they started recovery efforts, they were only finding bodies. There were hundreds of high schoolers, teachers and other passengers inside the ship and not a single one of them survived. The majority of them were still alive during the three hours it took for the Sewol to sink, recording videos of their ordeal and banging on the windows, begging to be saved - but they all eventually drowned or died of hypothermia. Those kids had trusted adults with their lives and were literally left to die. 304 people died in total, with 250 of them being Danwon High School students. The Sewol Ferry sinking was one of the most heartbreaking and senseless maritime tragedies to have ever happened. The students’ loved ones are still looking for answers as to why those 250 beautiful children had to die…and those answers may never come.
Slava's body was recovered and returned to his loving family on April 22. He is now resting at the Ansan Sky Memorial Park.
Thank you to Debra for sponsoring Slava's memorial!
