Science

Itaewon, scene of Seoul Halloween crowd crush, has complex history – The Washington Post

Comment

Gift Article

SEOUL — Itaewon, a hub for foreigners long known for its proximity to a major U.S. military base — and now identified with Seoul’s Halloween crowd crush that claimed over 150 lives — has long occupied a distinctive place in the South Korean capital’s history.

The nearby Yongsan area was occupied by the Japanese and then Americans. The United States occupied the Yongsan base after World War II and began leaving in 2017, largely seen as finally returning the land back to Korea, although many issues are still in dispute.

How and where the Seoul crush happened

As recently as the 1990s and early 2000s, the neighborhood was known for knockoff designer goods and as a red-light district largely supported by U.S. troops. But in the years since, it has reinvented itself as a nightlife hub. It caters to a large contingent of foreigners and expats, reflecting global influences and values. It is the most international district in Seoul, with hip lounges, bars and cafes modeled after venues in the United States, Europe and Russia.

More liberal societal attitudes are also present in Itaewon — particularly with regard to sexuality. The neighborhood includes gay clubs, in a country where homosexuality remains taboo. The internationally popular Korean drama “Itaewon Class,” which is set there, has a Black character and a trans character, racial diversity and gender fluidity that’s largely absent from other South Korean entertainment.

Here’s what causes crowd crushes like the deadly one in Seoul

“For Seoulites, it’s kind of a touristy place,” said Woo, a gaming executive who frequents trendy venues there for business. He spoke on the condition that only his last name be used because his company does not authorize him to speak to reporters. “A lot of Koreans who hang out in Itaewon go to mingle with international people and, in a way, put away their Korean-ness. I bet a lot of young Koreans who were there last night weren’t from Seoul.”

The attractions of Itaewon are similar to those of Times Square. An estimated 100,000 people flocked to the district Saturday to celebrate Halloween — an imported holiday increasingly popular with young South Koreans.

The celebrations were the first large-scale events since the coronavirus pandemic sparked cancellations and stringent social distancing measures.

End of carousel

Many alleys in the neighborhood are steep, some with steps, sandwiched between large, gleaming storefronts such as Lululemon’s. But as huge crowds pushed through the same tight corridors that give the neighborhood its charm, there was a crush. Footage from the scene suggests the neighborhood wasn’t able to cope with the volume of partygoers.

The disaster occurred in an alley on an incline next to the Hamilton Hotel, which sits above a major subway station. Through its iterations, the Hamilton has remained a popular meeting place for people who then head elsewhere. When trains arrive at busy times, they can send surges of people onto streets already pulsating with revelers.

Although a cause of the surge has not been determined, experts say the pressure from such crushes makes it hard to breathe because people’s lungs don’t have space to expand. It takes about six minutes to go into compressive or restrictive asphyxia, the probable cause of death for people killed in a crowd crush, said G. Keith Still, a crowd safety expert and visiting professor of crowd science at the University of Suffolk in England.

Jennifer Hassan, Joyce Sohyun Lee, Adam Taylor, Tim Meko and Harry Stevens contributed to this report.

Loading…