He first heard about crowd trouble in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon on evening news bulletins, but it was a call from his wife that made panic set in. Their 21-year-old daughter, Yujin, had set off to celebrate Halloween in Itaewon on Oct. 29, 2022, with a friend, who had phoned to tearfully explain that as the melee grew denser she had lost grip of Yujin's hand and consciousness soon after.
"After she woke, she had received a call from Yujin's phone but there was no sound," recalls Choi. "So she thought that maybe Yujin was injured."
Choi met Yujin's friend in front of Seoul's Hanyang University Hospital at 1:30 a.m. "There were lots of reporters and TV cameras," Choi tells TIME, standing before an unofficial memorial outside Seoul city hall for the 159 victims of the Itaewon crush. "There were dead bodies and a lot of confusion."
After hours of fruitless searching, Choi received a call from a policewoman. Then came that fated, hated word. "I just heard her say 'unfortunately ... and I don't remember anything after that."
Yujin was a performance-studies sophomore at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, though she had deferred her studies because of the pandemic, returning to South Korea where, in the grimmest of irony, she believed she'd be safer than in New York.
"She loved writing, acting, and music," says Choi, 54, a media executive. "She played the violin and was just a very positive, outgoing person."
This story is from the November 20, 2023 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 20, 2023 edition of Time.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Exhibition showcases ancient splendor
A captivating exhibition at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco offers a clue to the vibrant Bronze Age cultures that flourished along the Yangtze River more than 2,000 years ago.
Flights of kites
An ancient folk craft tradition floats across time and still soars to new heights in modern times
What does a biopic owe its subject?
AMY WINEHOUSE WROTE SONGS THAT CUT TO THE CORE of heartbreak and sang them in a voice as supple and sturdy as raw silk.
On the road again with Mad Max's mastermind
GEORGE MILLER HAS SPENT MORE THAN 40 YEARS swerving in and out of the post apocalyptic world of Mad Max.
TV'S ENDLESS HOLOCAUST
A surge of World War II dramas fails to connect with the present
your toxic life
AN INDEPENDENT LAB HAS MADE A BUSINESS OF EXPOSING WHAT’S REALLY INSIDE EVERYDAY PRODUCTS
NEXT GENERATION LEADERS
11 trailblazers who are challenging the status quo, leading with empathy, and forging solutions for a brighter future
Uranium dreams
The promise of clean nuclear power brings the West to Mongolia
Why the Westminster Dog Show made me appreciate mutts
I SPENT THREE YEARS AMONG DOGS WITH BLOODLINES like British royalty.
CO₂ Leadership Brief
ON MAY 1, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR Jerome Powell offered a two-part message to eager interest- rate watchers.
