South Korea Mourns Itaewon Halloween Crowd Surge Victims

Rescue workers wait with stretchers on Oct. 30, 2022. Photo: Kim Hong-ji/Reuters

A crowd surge that happened in the Itaewon district in South Korea’s capital Seoul has left 156 people dead and over 150 injured this past Halloween weekend. 

Itaewon is known for its nightlife and festive atmosphere, and a famous attraction for many youth and foreign tourists. There was an overwhelming amount of people that gathered in the narrow steep streets of Itaewon to celebrate the Halloween festivities, as it was the first Halloween weekend since coronavirus  restrictions were  lifted. 

With the Itaewon subway station right nearby, and the alley being located right off the main road, there was a continued flow of people being packed onto the narrow street. The crowd eventually became uncontrollable with people continuing to become crushed. Movement was impossible, and many experienced difficulty in breathing. 

There are reports that police received multiple calls with concerns that the crowd was becoming too big and people experienced difficulties in movement, even hours before the incident occurred. The police responded to the worried callers saying that they would send people to check out the scene. However, records show that officers were mobilized in only 4 out of the 11 phone calls made to police. The four police dispatches made were too few and too late to prevent the disaster. 

Many videos of the night of the crush have circulated on social media. Many videos show people climbing up the sides of the buildings to escape, people screaming for help, and performing CPR on the lined up bodies on the floor. Medical assistance and ambulances were dispatched to the scene hours after the first emergency call, and eventually blue body bags lined up on the streets. 

People take part in a candlelight vigil to commemorate victims killed in the Oct. 29 Halloween crowd crush. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP

With the nationwide devastation, there soon came angry demands from the grieving public for accountability, especially with a tragedy that could’ve been prevented. 

The Prime Minister stated that the disaster revealed South Korea’s “lack of deep institutional knowledge and consideration for crowd management.” 

Authorities acknowledged the lack of protocols in place for dealing with massive crowds without a specific organizer. Moreover, the National Police Chief admitted the police’s inadequate response to emergency calls. Top officials, including President Yoon Suk Yeol, apologized for the disaster. 

To commemorate the victims of the Halloween crowd crush, thousands of people have gathered at Seoul’s city hall. In a separate candlelight vigil, organized by a civic activist group, people have gathered to protest against President Yoon Suk-Yeol, demanding that he step down from office. It is reported that President Yoon of the conservative People Power Party has been battling record low approval ratings since taking office in May.  

The national mourning period for the tragedy ran through Nov. 5, 2022.