The National Archives of Korea has named hundreds of items used by the students of Danwon High School who died in the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry as nationally-designated records. 

The April 16 Institute of Democratic Citizenship Education under Gyeonggi Province’s office of education announced on Tuesday that a total of 473 items used by the student victims, including desks and chairs, secured the designation.

In a notice, the archives agency said the designated items are records of a major social disaster and are significant in that they are a collection of history surrounding the tragedy and educational culture of that time. 

The agency’s move comes after the April 16 Institute of Democratic Citizenship Education, together with a private group composed of families of the ferry sinking’s victims, requested the designation.

Nationally-designated records are items considered historically significant and valued enough to be permanently preserved at the national level. The government provides support in preserving, restoring, managing and building a database for such records. 

A total of 304 people lost their lives in the tragic ferry sinking, including 250 students of Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. They were traveling on the ill-fated boat as part of a school trip to Jeju Island.