Crowd stampede leaves 154 dead in South Korea

USD students react to deadly Halloween festivities

MEI FLORY / MANAGING EDITOR  / THE USD VISTA

Over Halloween weekend, tragedy struck South Korea when 154 people died and 149 were injured from a massive crowd stampede in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul. Of the 154 deceased, at least 19 were foreigners, including two Americans. According to Yonhap News, a South Korean news outlet, the incident occurred on Saturday, Oct. 29, with the first reports reaching police authorities at 10:15 p.m. 

Itaewon is known for its vibrant nightlife and is a popular place for foreigners. The Halloween festivities that took place were the first in nearly three years due to COVID-19 restricting large public gatherings. Since the South Korean government lifted COVID-19 restrictions, larger groups of people became acceptable again. However, the size of the crowd in Itaewon on Saturday made it difficult for individuals to move — and to breathe.

In an 11-feet-wide alley near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, over 100,000 people flooded the area, making it nearly impossible to move around and break free. The first reports that local authorities received were related to difficulties breathing, with some individuals passing out and losing consciousness due to suffocation from the tightly packed crowd. 

NPR reported that some restaurant workers who were trapped inside shops and cafes attempted to open their doors to minors and others trying to escape the crowd in an attempt to save lives. The sheer size of the crowd also posed another challenge for dispatchers to help those who were stuck in the crowd. 

Yonhap News noted that this was South Korea’s worst tragedy since the 2014 Sewol Ferry tragedy that resulted in the death of 304 people, most of them being high school students. 

In addition to the deaths, 335 people were reported missing. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol addressed the country, stating that this “tragedy and disaster should never have happened.” 

USD sophomore Erika Loo first heard about the crowd stampede from her mother before seeing it on social media. Loo shared how she felt when she first heard about the incident, as well as what it was like when she herself got trapped in a crowd.

“I was just really shocked because of how many people died in that bad of a stampede. When I was trapped in a crowd, I felt very anxious and very panicked. I really couldn’t get out. I just had to wait it out,” she explained. 

USD sophomore Ava Palma first heard about the Korean crowd stampede through TikTok before seeing news articles. She noted that the event reminded her of the Travis Scott incident that occurred last year. 

“There have been numerous events similar to this one such as the Travis Scott incident. Although there was change and safety measures enforced for a short time, the celebrations continued,” Palma explained. 

Similarly, Loo believed safety measures should be enforced, but she doesn’t think many people will adhere to stricter regulations in the wake of this recent incident in South Korea.

“Knowing common trends, if it doesn’t apply directly to us [in the U.S.], we tend not to follow it,” she said.  

South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced that the country had entered a period of national mourning that would last up until Nov. 5. The Yongsan district of Seoul, which is where Itaewon is located, was declared a “special disaster area,” meaning that “the government will pay funeral fees for the dead, medical costs for the injured, and consolation payments to bereaved families,” according to NPR. 

U.S. President Joe Biden offered his own condolences on behalf of the U.S. On Twitter, he wrote: “Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Seoul. We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured.”

The tragedy in South Korea has sparked discussions on what people should do if they are ever caught in a crowd stampede. NPR advises that individuals should always be on the lookout for any danger signs and to leave as soon as the crowd gets too dense for a person’s comfort level. 

Palma offered tips that help her feel more safe in a crowd. 

“I always make sure to stay hydrated and stay in a place in the crowd I feel comfortable in. Stay. On. Your. Feet. Keep your arms stretched out so they will not be pinned to your side and you are not trapped further. Conserve your oxygen as much as possible, and don’t go against the crowd flow,” she explained.

Loo added on and said, “Try not to go to the outside [of the crowd] because if they push you into the wall, you’re gonna get squished.”

According to Reuters, the South Korean government canceled all Halloween events and plans to further investigate the tragedy.