A small street in Itaewon is cordoned off on Oct. 30, 2022, a day after a deadly crowd crush in the popular nightlife district killed more than 150 people during Halloween celebrations. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea this weekend begins a solemn experiment in shared remembrance. For the first time, the government and the families of those lost in the Itaewon disaster will stand together in public mourning, three years after a crowd crush in a narrow Halloween alley took 159 lives and scarred the country’s understanding of safety and responsibility.
On Saturday evening, as the clock strikes 6:34 p.m. — the moment the first desperate emergency call was made on Oct. 29, 2022 — thousands are expected to gather at Seoul Plaza for a ceremony jointly organized by victims’ families, civic groups, and the city of Seoul.
The Interior Ministry says some 4,000 attendees may take part, including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, political leaders, clergy, activists, and ordinary citizens who watched the tragedy unfold from afar.
Forty bereaved relatives from 12 countries have been invited by the government, a gesture acknowledging the global dimension of the loss: many who died that night were young foreigners drawn to the city’s cosmopolitan nightlife.
A citizen lays flowers at a memorial space for the Itaewon disaster victims set up near Exit 1 of Itaewon Station in Yongsan District, Seoul, on Nov. 9, 2022.
The day’s events begin in Itaewon itself, where representatives of four major religions will offer a joint prayer and then lead a march to the downtown square. There, organizers will read each victim’s name aloud — a ritual South Korea once struggled to embrace amid political tensions over accountability — before a period of silence, a speech from the prime minister, and a memorial concert.
The official anniversary falls next Wednesday, when Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul will host a government-led commemoration. A citywide siren will sound for one minute, an audible reminder of the calls that were missed and the warnings unheeded.
The shared ceremonies mark an attempt to bridge a divide that has persisted since the disaster: between a nation’s desire to move forward and families’ insistence that remembrance, justice, and reform must come first.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
