SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Police did not foresee that massive casualties would occur from this year’s Halloween festivities in the central Seoul district of Itaewon, a top police official said Monday, responding to growing criticism about their failure to prevent the deadly crowd crush. Hong Ki-hyun, chief of the National Police Agency’s Public [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — A witness of the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district that killed at least 154 people has shared his horrific experience of carrying dead bodies and watching people, many in their 20s, suffocate to death. “I think I carried, like, 50 bodies,” a man in his 20s working [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Witnesses and survivors on Sunday said an overnight stampede that killed at least 151 people occurred after a massive group of people celebrating Halloween surged into a narrow downhill alley and were instantly pushed down by others. The deadliest stampede in South Korea’s history happened Saturday night in the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Itaewon, the site of Saturday’s deadly stampede that killed at least 149 people, is known for its hip nightlife and chic restaurants, making it a favorite hangout among young people in their 20s and beyond. Itaewon’s bars and clubs have long served American troops stationed in the country as [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — At least 153 people have been killed and 133 others injured in a deadly stampede in Seoul’s Itaewon district as huge crowds of partygoers, many in their 20s, converged in the entertainment district for late-night Halloween celebrations. The deadliest stampede in South Korea’s history happened Saturday night in a [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has placed the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in central Seoul off-limits for the upcoming Halloween weekend to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. The multicultural district has been popular among foreigners and some South Koreans for Halloween celebrations, but concerns have risen [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Popular clubs in Seoul’s hip districts of Itaewon, Hongdae and Gangnam will close this Halloween weekend to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. According to customer notices seen Wednesday, these large-capacity clubs will close the same day until next Tuesday. “Following consultations with health authorities and local governments, we [...]
SEOUL, July 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Civic groups have petitioned the Constitutional Court to declare that the government’s massive collection of mobile phone data for contact tracing to stem the spread of COVID-19 was unconstitutional. The five groups led by two influential civic groups — MINBYUN-Lawyers for a Democracy Society and People’s Solidarity for Participatory [...]
SEOUL, June 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Sexual minorities are facing social discrimination, hatred and isolation following a mass outbreak of the coronavirus in Itaewon that began on May 7. An individual referred to only as Kim, who visited a club in Itaewon and tested negative for the coronavirus on May 12, talked of his recent [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The much-hyped mass outbreak of the coronavirus that started at an Itaewon club might have been forecast as a typhoon but has ended up more like a breeze. The apparent success in avoiding a serious spike in infections is the latest accomplishment confirming the excellence of “K-quarantine” that is [...]