S. Korea mourns with kin of local and foreign victims 3 years after Itaewon tragedy

Memorial marks the first time families of foreign victims attended such an event

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A memorial ceremony marking the third anniversary of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush was held in Seoul on Oct 25 the first such service attended by the bereaved families of foreign victims.

The ceremony, co-organised by the government and a civic group representing the victims' families, also marked the first time the South Korean government officially took part in such an event as an organiser.

On the night of Oct 29, 2022, which fell on a Saturday just two days before Halloween, an unprecedented crowd crush in Itaewon a district known for its global culture and nightlife claimed 159 lives as people gathered to celebrate Halloween. Of those who died, 21 were foreign nationals.

The ceremony began with a reading of each victim's name at Seoul Plaza at 6.34pm the time when the first emergency calls were made to police on the night of the disaster.

One of the factors blamed for the high death toll was the lack of coordinated response and control among the authorities, even though a large crowd had been expected. It was the first major public event since the lifting of strict social distancing measures implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.