International News

Stampede Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea

Author : Bozhou Marine

Update time : 2022-11-01 11:37:25

SEOUL — It was supposed to be a festive evening, as large groups of lively young people gathered in one of Seoul’s most popular nightlife districts, dressed as zombies, princesses and superheroes, for the first time unrestricted since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic Halloween celebration.

On Saturday night, they flocked to bars and nightclubs blasting South Korea's latest pop hits, squeezed into the winding narrow alleys of Seoul's Itaewon, and sampled Greece, Turkey, Italy and the rest of the world in a place known for its diversity 's cuisine.

As the night's activities became more and more frenzied, the number of revellers increased, and many people crowded into an alley more than three meters wide, forming a bottleneck of people flow, and the people inside had difficulty breathing and could not move. According to witnesses, there were almost no police around at the time, and shouts of "push, push" were heard from the crowd, followed by loud shoving. Then, people started to fall, too many bodies, one after the other, compressed into too little space.

Itaewon is one of the most popular nightlife areas in Seoul, South Korea. The "Halloween" stampede tragedy occurred on the 29th. It is the first festival without masks after the new crown epidemic in Seoul. It is estimated that 100,000 people gathered at the scene, and there was one more than 10 p.m. The trampling of people in the narrow inclined alley has caused 154 deaths, most of them young women, including 26 foreigners. South Korean President Yoon Seok-yue declared a national mourning for 7 days.

It was one of the worst peacetime disasters in South Korea, and the tragedy and questions about the authorities' accountability for crowd management have damaged the image of South Korea, which, despite its thriving tech industry and massive pop culture export, also happens frequently. man-made disaster. The disaster has also exacerbated the political woes of President Yin Xiyue, whose approval ratings are already low and more people are taking to the streets to demand his resignation.

During the official situation briefings on Sunday, officials including President Yoon Sek-yue and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vowed to do everything they can to make South Korea safer. But they offered little explanation for why there were no crowd-control measures on Saturday night, what went wrong in the alleys of Itaewon and why the disaster continued in South Korea.

www.bozhou-int.com | Marine Light

Previous : The wave of layoffs in the United States

Next : Queen Elizabeth Dies

RMB Exchange Rate Against the US Dollar

May .26.2025

On the morning of May 26, both onshore and offshore RMB exchange rates against the US dollar rose sharply, breaking through 7.17 yuan.

China Reduces Its Holdings of US Foreign Debt

May .21.2025

China has changed from the second largest creditor of the United States to the third largest creditor, and the United Kingdom has become the second largest creditor.

Many Countries Have Strictly Investigated the Falsification of Certificates of Origin

Apr .28.2025

Recently, many countries have issued notices to strictly investigate the falsification of certificates of origin and crack down on violations of re-export trade.

Pope Francis Passes Away

Apr .21.2025

Pope Francis died on April 21, 2025, at the age of 88 at Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City.