When Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, about an hour into a journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, it was the one of the world’s greatest aviation mystery. Almost a year on, the families of the missing are still waiting to find out what happened to their loved ones.
Zhiliang, seen sitting in his empty apartment, is one of several who agreed to be photographed with the symbols of their grief. He planned to decorate the house with his missing fiancé. They were due to marry last year.
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Liu, pictured holding her missing husband Li Zhijin’s ring, said she had argued with Li in their last phone call before the incident. She did not realise that this could be their last ever conversation and now it is her greatest regret.
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Liu, whose husband Lu is missing along with the Malaysian plane, shows a room they had prepared for their future babies.
They got married in March, a week before the incident took place. However, they could not go on a honeymoon due to her husband’s busy schedule, which was also the reason he boarded the plane.
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Feng Xuehong, whose son Wang Houbin disappeared along with the Malaysian Airlines flight, cries as she shows a picture of him on her mobile phone.
In their last conversation before the incident, her son had said, “Give me a hug, mom. Take care of yourself and I’ll come back to see you soon.”
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Liu Kun shows a picture of his missing younger brother, Liu Qiang (top right), on his mobile phone.
Liu said he does not believe the vanished plane crashed in the Indian Ocean with everyone on board. He hopes his brother and the other passengers are all still alive.
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Hu, whose son Zhao’s whole family was on the missing flight, wipes away a tear as her granddaughter’s framed picture is seen in the living room of her house.
Hu said she had thought of suicide. She could not go back home for a while after the incident because she was afraid to enter the empty house, once full of her three-year-old granddaughter’s lovely smile.
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Li Zhen holds her cat, Zhang Xiaomi, as she poses with a desk and chair that her missing husband used.
Li said her only wish now is that her husband will come home alive, no matter how much he has changed.
. BEIJING, CHINA. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Li, whose 34-year-old son Wen Yongsheng is still missing, shows the medicine she and her husband take daily.
They said the incident makes their health worse and they have to go to hospital every day.
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Photographer Kim Kyung-Hoon talks about the challenges of shooting the series.
The family members desperately want to know what happened to their loved ones and where the missing plane is.
Almost six months have passed since the Malaysian Airlines MH370 disappeared. Although authorities concluded that the plane crashed in the remote Indian Ocean and lost all the passengers, many family members refuse to accept that conclusion. They hope that they are still alive.
However, public interest towards this incident has faded, so I decided to record what these family members are still going through and shed light on this mysterious incident once again.
I thought that portrait-style pictures showing family members together with the missing passengers’ mementos would tell a story.
Before I started the project, I assumed I would find a couple of families at most, but the victims’ relatives really wanted to speak out about the incident and how much they are suffering now.
One family member, who liked my idea, introduced me to the relatives of other victims, who in turn introduced me to others, a bit like a relay.
Before I met them, I had assumed it would be very difficult to ask them to stand in front of my camera. But they were really cooperative as they were afraid the public is forgetting the incident, so they wanted to share their stories through my pictures.
Most people didn’t need much convincing to stand in front of the camera. Only a few refused, usually because they didn’t want their relatives or neighbours to know their family members are missing.
For the same reason, some people declined to show their faces or didn’t want to use their real names, even though they felt comfortable with the camera.
In this case, I didn’t push them and I had to invent some different ways to photograph them.
Finding the right object to show their grief was quite simple because they had already kept objects, or mementos, with them since the incident; objects which now have a special meaning for them.
The relatives often had more than one memento and these included a wide variety of things, such as photos, dolls, pets, books, furniture, a whole house, and records of chat messages. Every item held a different meaning for each person.
I was very careful not to hurt their feelings or invade their privacy when taking these pictures.
My first priority was showing my respect for the family members, so before photographing them, I would wait to ask their permission to take pictures until I felt that they were ready and would always spend some time listening to them talk. Sometimes this brought tears to my eyes.
This incident was different from any other disaster story I’ve covered because we still don’t know what exactly happened to the missing plane and passengers.
The family members desperately want to know what happened to their loved ones and where the missing plane is.
I don’t think we should stop searching for the plane until we can find out what happened. That will be the only way to comfort the grieving family members and stop their crying.
