Three days after the tragedy that left 156 dead and 151 injured on Halloween in South Korea, the gymnasium that had been turned into a makeshift morgue now looks like a lostandfound office filled with the victims’ belongings.
There are at least 256 pairs of shoes, 258 pieces of clothing, 124 bags, and 156 electronic devices such as watches and headphones. There are also glasses, keychains, stuffed animals, masks and costumes used at Halloween parties. All objects are organized and classified, but only a small part has owners identified. Cell phones and documents are kept in police stations.
The silence in the Wonhyoro gym contrasts with the dynamism of the Itaewon district of Seoul, known for its intense nightlife and cosmopolitan character with the presence of many tourists and foreigners.
It also reflects the sadness and dismay of South Koreans at the tragedy in which hundreds of victims, mostly young people, died or were injured after the riot in an alley about ten feet wide a “human tsunami” as described by a witness sheet.
A survivor with a leg cast this Tuesday (1st) walked through the gym looking for her bag but couldn’t find it. Without identifying herself, she told Portal news agency that she only got out alive because her torso was not pressed against the alley walls.
According to police officials interviewed by Portal, few people have gone to the gym to pick up their belongings, so the objects represent a kind of memorial, albeit unofficially like those collecting candles, letters, flowers and expressions of solidarity from others.
On Tuesday, the South Korean police commander admitted agents had received warnings about the dangers of a crowd in Itaewon. “Even before the accident, a crowd had gathered, pointing out the danger but the benefit [que fizemos] this information was insufficient,” said Yoon Heekeun.
Some of the calls to police were made four hours before the tragedy. “There are a lot of people walking up and down this alley. I’m very nervous. I think some people might get knocked down. I narrowly escaped, but there are many people on one of the calls received from The Washington Post newspaper.
South Korea had a good record of crowd control. During protests, it is common for the police contingent to exceed the number of demonstrators. According to the local press, however, there was a reversal of priorities last Saturday.
Police dispatched 137 officers to Itaewon where an estimated 100,000 people lived and 6,500 to another point in Seoul where 25,000 people attended a protest.
Interior Minister Lee Sangmin was the first senior official to apologize for the tragedy. “As the minister responsible for the safety of the population, I would like to sincerely apologize to the people for this accident,” he said in an address in the plenary hall.
Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon called out during a news conference, saying the government will use all available resources “until citizens can return to normal life.”
President Yoon Sukyeol did not apologize but acknowledged the country needs to improve its response to crowds. He decreed national mourning, promising rigorous investigations and action to prevent similar tragedies. He also called for the creation of a “stateoftheart” system to help with the task although critics say Korea already has the resources to do so, they were not deployed in Itaewon.
Seoul Prefecture has a system that monitors crowds in realtime by collecting data from smartphones to predict congestion formation. However, the local press points out that the model was not applied on Saturday. The perception, therefore, is that the tragedy could have been avoided.
Sebastian Ligarde and Ernesto Laguardia
