On October 29th, a Halloween parade took place in the Itaewon area of South Korea. This area is famous for its exciting atmosphere and is the country’s most popular spot for Halloween parties with almost 100,000 people gathering during the parades. That Saturday, in a narrow alley of Seoul’s neighborhood, a “hell-like” chaos began, survivors of the stampede described. Witnesses say that people were falling like dominos and the alley was jammed with people in Halloween costumes and slow-moving vehicles. Other victims have said they were trapped in the stampede for over an hour before being rescued. 

 At least 149 people were killed because of this stampede and another 150 people are currently injured according to New York Times. Once the stampede cleared and medical attention proceeded 50 people were found motionless on the ground with bleeding from their nose, mouth, or skull caused by a fracture. Most of the victims appeared to be in their youth, they just wanted to have fun and celebrate the upcoming holiday without any knowledge that this event would take place. This tragedy is said to be the worst catastrophe in South Korea since the sinking of the Sewol ferry stated on Global News.  

Monday, October 31st, the South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, apologized for the events that took place during the parade and pledged to hold account for every response from police and management systems. During a television speech the president also announced a one-week national mourning period contributed to those that had lost their lives. Police officers are still trying to figure out when the stampede began and what caused it and are striving to make improvements of their system so that something like this event does not take place again. 

 Public attention has been drawn to South Korea because of this disaster leading government officials to improve on the public safety standards throughout the country.  

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/10/29/world/korea-halloween-stampede-itaewon 

https://globalnews.ca/news/9236296/south-korea-halloween-stampede-death/