Danwon High School students to return to school this week

The Sewol-ho ferry tragedy has hit Danwon High School especially hard, as more than 3-hundred of its students were on board the vessel when it capsized. The school will re-open its doors this week. The grieving students will be met with the help of professionals, who will guide them through the most difficult moments of their lives. Kim Sung-hyun has this report. Despite still being in severe shock, students of the Danwon High School in Ansan will be returning to their classrooms this week. Laughter and joy filled the ship when it departed on a school trip to Jeju Island, but now there are only tears left. The Sewol-ho was carrying 3-hundred-25 students from Danwon High school in their junior years. The school has temporarily closed twice since Wednesday, the day of the incident... but there were concerns from parents of sophomores and seniors,... who asked that students be able to return to their daily routines as soon as possible. The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education held a briefing Sunday, and announced its plan to re-open the school this Thursday. When students return, the focus will be on helping the students cope with the traumatic events of the past several days. "We will primarily progress with a therapy program to help the students recover from the mental shock, and will gradually return to usual class schedules." There are currently around 1-hundred doctors and therapists ready to help at the high school. The students of Danwon High School are also grieving over the death of their vice principal, who was rescued from the Sewol-ho ferry, but later committed suicide over apparent feelings of guilt. Experts worry that many students will be affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can occur even years after a shocking incident occurs. Kim Sung-hyun, Arirang News.