Nghe An witness recalls haunting moments in the Itaewon tragedy (South Korea)

Crowds of people moving at Itaewon subway station. Photo: NVCC

On the evening of October 29, joining the crowd, a young man from Nghe An who is working as an interpreter in the dental field in Korea and his younger brother attended the festival atItaewon street. This is the first Halloween event in Seoul in 3 years after Korea lifted many Covid-19 prevention restrictions. Arriving at the night market at 9:30 p.m., the two brothers happily walked around, immersing themselves in the vibrant festival atmosphere.

However, by 10pm, the crowd had increased dramatically, and people began to jostle and push each other, only able to move in small steps. “I was with my little brother, so he was squeezed to the point that his face was completely flattened. Even though I wasn’t tall, only 1m70 and weighed 55kg, I tried my best to wrap my arms around his head and chest to help him, even though he was also being squashed,” Kang recalled.

Iteawon neighborhood scene on the night of October 29th was crowded with people. Photo: NVCC

As the night wore on, the crowd in Iteawon grew larger and larger, with an estimated 100,000 people flocking to the area. Bars and restaurants were packed. At that point, the Kang brothers were at their wits’ end, sensing something bad was about to happen, so they tried their best to pull over to the side of the road, the only place they could think of that would reduce the crowd. This was a decision that, looking back, helped the two brothers luckily escape a potential tragedy.

Crowds of people in Iteawon neighborhood on the evening of October 29. Photo: NVCC

While it seemed hopeless to escape the dense crowd, fortunately a tall Korean man standing next to him was also trying to pull over to the side of the road, so Kang followed and pulled his brother out of the jostling crowd. Luckily, there was a small makeup counter there, so there was enough space for the two of them to stand. About 10 minutes later, Kang heard people screaming, “Stop pushing, get out of the way, someone is dead.”

“But it was really hopeless because the music at the roadside shops was so loud that it drowned out the traffic, and there were too many people. People probably didn’t think it was real, they just thought they were being pushed too much and screamed. The crowd kept pushing and shoving each other. My brother and I didn’t think it was real either, but we still pulled over to the side of the road to be safe,” Kang said.

People attend the Halloween Festival in Itaewon, Seoul (South Korea) on the evening of October 29. Photo: NVCC

After about 20 or 30 minutes, the security guards of the shops and the locals carried many people out, and then the crowd started to open up a little. The speakers were still playing loudly, people were still dancing and standing in the street.

Around 11pm, the police came to clear the road. At this point, people were probably aware of the incident, so more volunteers came out to help clear the road, but it was still very difficult because the crowd was still very large and more and more curious people came to watch.

After a while, Kang saw more and more firefighters, rescue workers, doctors, nurses, and reporters from newspapers and radio stations arriving. From that moment, most of the people there probably realized that there was a real incident and cleared the way for rescuers to carry the victims out.

“It was so haunting! Seeing a row of dead people lying on the street,” Kang told reporters in shock. “I heard people screaming, leaving those who were no longer breathing in a corner, only prioritizing carrying those whose hearts were still beating out. Until 2am on October 30, the rescue operation was still going on continuously.”

Witnessing the horrifying scene, the Kang brothers still had difficulty escaping because of the crowded crowd and the atmosphere of panic. At around 3am, the two were able to walk to an area far from Iteawon and called relatives to pick them up because the road was blocked.

"I was forced to do so I still feel a bit of chest tightness and nausea, but I am luckier than many people to escape the tragedy. My deepest condolences to the victims."young man from Nghe Anstill shocked, told reporters on the morning of October 31.

Itaewon is a bustling Western neighborhood located in the center of Yongsan District, South of Seoul (South Korea). Photo: Google Maps