“Mourn for the sacrifice of Ha-Ram”
Ed Murray, the mayor of Seattle, sent a condolence letter to the family of Ha-Ram Kim (20), a South Korean Student, who tragically died in a traffic collision with a Ride The Duck vehicle, on a Seattle tour bus on the 24th of September.
On October 1st, the City of Seattle called the Korea Times, in cooperation with Seattle N, and sent a request. “Ed Murray is planning to send a sympathy letter to Kim’s family and thus he wants the Korea Times to review the letter once translated into the Korean language so the City of Seattle and citizens’ heartfelt condolences could be delivered to the bereaved clearly”.
Through the mourning letter, which begins with ‘To the family of Ha-Ram Kim’, the mayor, Ed Murray, consoles the bereaved with “On behalf of the city of Seattle, I offer heartfelt condolences to you. No words could fill the emptiness that we received from the loss of Ha-Ram Kim”.
Murray also said “However, there is one comfort we can take. People in Seattle and all around the world showed love to people who got injured or died from the tragic accident, including Ha-Ram”.
The mayor continuously added, “People of around ten different countries are transcending borders, tradition and language and sharing the sorrow with your family. If there is anything that the city government or I can help with, please don’t hesitate to contact with us”.
The city government sent the letter to Kim’s family through South Korea’s consulate general Seattle resident on September 30th.
After coming to Seattle for study abroad at North Seattle Community College, Ha-Ram Kim died on September 24th when she was on an orientation bus tour to Safeco Field and Pike Public Market with 45 other international students and school officials.
In the accident, Claudia Derschimidt, a 49 year old woman from Austria; Privando Putradanto, an 18 year old man from Indonesia; Mami Sato, a 36 year old woman from Japan; and Lun Ji Song, a 17 year old girl from China also died.
