Itaewon is a commercial area in Seoul, South Korea known for cultural diversity. Many young people, especially foreigners who reside in Korea, visit Itaewon to enjoy the time of their youth. On the night of Oct 31, more than 100,000 people gathered dressed up in Halloween costumes. It has been two years since COVID-19 restricted public gatherings, but South Korea started letting people take their masks off outdoors this year. Consequently, people took less care of COVID and were ecstatic about Halloween at Itaewon.

Tragically, on the night of Halloween, more than 150 people on the streets of Itaewon died due to a crowd crush. Itaewon is not a large area, and the streets are very narrow. Therefore, people who were stuck in the middle of the street were unable to get out. According to one of the witness accounts, "people were suffocating, screaming... getting squeezed... falling... there were just too many people.” Unlike previous Halloween parties, the police were not there at night to organize and control the crowd.

After I heard this news on Sunday morning, I could not believe that such a thing could happen in South Korea. I thought about the deaths of young lives, and I felt sorry for a few moments. However, if I am honest, I don’t think I felt great sadness about the crisis. A couple of days later, I began to think that maybe there is something wrong with me for not feeling sad about the deaths of people.

I wonder if I am too desensitized to tragic news because I often hear about atrocities and massacres while studying Global Politics in the DP. I think that as a human being, I should feel more sorrow towards things that are actually sad. But I am not sure how to be more emotionally active. I sometimes think I am becoming more apathetic and emotionless toward tragic events. Do you feel the same way?

Sources:

Slow, Oliver. “South Korea: How the Halloween Tragedy Unfolded.” BBC News, 30 Oct. 2022, www.bbc.com/news/world-63448040. Accessed 1 Nov. 2022.

YONHAP. “An Aerial Shot of the Itaewon Stampede near the Hamilton Hotel in Yongsan District, Central Seoul, on Saturday Night,” Korea JoongAng Daily, 2022, koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2022/10/30/culture/lifeStyle/Korea-Gucci-Gyeongbok-Palace/20221030192439007.html. Accessed 1 Nov. 2022.