South Korea has been devastated this Halloween. A crowd crush took place at 22:15 local time (KST) (10 pm) in the narrow alleyway district of Itaewon, witnesses said they could not move or breathe as thousands were shoulder-to-shoulder in alleyways no more than 4 meters (13 feet) wide.
Dojeon Media sends out our love to those affected.
We wanted to share one of our stories related to the crush. Here is a chat with Jonathan Lui our CEO/Founder:
Ann: Jon, why is Itaewon so popular?
Jon: Itaewon is a hot spot because when Korea thinks "Halloween ", they automatically think "we have to go to Itaewon. " It's just where the country goes to celebrate Halloween. It is the most concentrated area of foreigners in the country.
Ann: When were you in Itaewon?
Jon: From 4:30 - 8pm that Saturday
Ann: I am so grateful that you were not there later than 8pm!
What was the vibe like?
Jon: The atmosphere was really quiet when I arrived at the restaurant we were going to have dinner. It started to get busy around 7pm when we went to a cafe. There were more and more people outside on the street with costumes and enjoying themselves. When we stepped out of the cafe it was about 7:30 and that's when I took the video. People started crowding the street, but for us that live here, it's pretty normal.
Ann: Was it busy or calm when you were there?
Jon: For the most part, it was pretty calm, there wasn't any pushing or shoving since there were many families with small children trick-or-treating. People were just enjoying the festivities (they had face painting and other fun Halloween games).
Ann: How has this affected you?
Jon: I felt this tragedy could have been avoided and unnecessary. But I also understand the need to go out and "stretch our COVID legs" since it's been 3 years since our last Halloween. I've already known this but "avoid crowds if possible", and this event just confirmed it. I feel bad for the parents of the students who were excited to go out and have a good time. They were given pocket money and encouraged to have fun. How do you think the parents felt? That kind of thing. Also, the foreigners who were just visiting. They had no clue that it would be like this.
This is what we recorded during the Halloween festivities in Itaewon before the incident, around 19:30 KST.
Readers, please comment below on the Halloween tragedy. How have you felt? Do you have your own story?