OVER A month has passed since the tragic turn of Itaewon’s Halloween festivities, and the country continues to grieve. The jarring number of lost lives—158 at present—has solidified the Itaewon crowd surge as South Korea’s worst post-war crisis since 2014. Most of the victims were from a young demographic: 12 in their late-teens and 105 in their twenties[1]. Several Korean universities took swift action by sending out student-wide alerts and emergency notices. Within the next few hours following the incident, universities also began introducing programs meant to alleviate emotional distress for victims. 

Revisiting the incident 

   Geographically speaking, Itaewon, like many old neighborhoods in Seoul, is relatively small compared to its population. Its infrastructure consists of crowded buildings, narrow streets, and inclined slopes, where the area’s nightlife district is located uphill with several bars and clubs littering the path. Much of Itaewon’s popularity comes from its picturesque layout whilst another reason stems from its international background. The Yongsan Garrison, a U.S. military base, was active in the neighborhood until the end of 2019, and western influence has developed Itaewon into the cultural melting pot of Korea. Further media coverage in dramas like Itaewon Class have pushed the neighborhood into the forefront of Korean pop culture with a specific focus on its Halloween traditions. 

   On October 29, an estimated 130,000 people filled the streets of Itaewon. The large turnout was partly due to this year’s Halloween festivities being held without any COVID-19 restrictions. The 4 m by 40 m alley beside the Hamilton Hotel was by no means suitable for a crowd of such magnitude. Its sloped nature culminated in a crushing weight of over 5,000 kg against those in the center and lower end of the alley. The crowd locked-in around 10 p.m. before the situation had escalated into a fatal crush well over midnight. Over 4,000 people were reported missing hours after the incident—many were unable to contact friends and family, others could not find the hospital where their loved ones were sent to. 

   In addition to the casualties, there is a large portion of injured victims still in critical conditions. The public has been searching for a primary perpetrator since, and several people have been coerced into submitting formal apologies. Whether it was due to rowdy individuals within the crowd that pushed others or a lack of action from the Yongsan-gu police, the government has been harshly criticized within the past few weeks after the incident. The suffocating crowd levels had been reported to the police hours before a bottleneck was developed, and a reported 11 calls were made to the 112-emergency-hotline from as early as 6:34 p.m[2]. Many claim that the crowd surge would have been entirely preventable if proper crowd control measures were enacted prior to the night. 

University’s response

   Since the majority of the victims were within a young age group, universities took immediate action regarding the safety of their students. Text messages were sent to all Yonsei University students the very next day. The first batch of messages urged students that were directly affected by the incident or those that knew victims to immediately contact the school administration. More alerts and notices were sent through the school’s official website, social media accounts, and department group chats—once again urging students to report to the school had they been part of the accident. 

   Head of Yonsei's General Affairs Team, Seo Ki-hwan, told The Yonsei Annals how the university was able to respond to the disaster. A response team was established between several school departments immediately after the disaster. Their top priority was to determine whether any of the victims were students or faculty members of the school. They were later notified by the Korean Language Institute (KLI) that one of its students was a victim, and the Office of International Affairs promptly took over the situation. 

   Yonsei’s General Student Council Emergency Exigency Committee expressed their condolences to everyone affected by the accident. They assured students that an investigation was being conducted to find “damage[s] of Yonsei students in connection with the Halloween incident.” They cooperated with the school administration to “provide all possible support and follow-up measures,” and created two open chatrooms for those that suffered from injuries, were interested in reporting any related information, or individuals who could not contact a friend that visited the scene of the accident. Similar notices were posted by several different Korean universities such as Ewha Womans University, Hanyang University, and Korea University. 

   Within the next few days, these universities created emergency counseling services for victims of the tragedy. Ewha Womans University’s Student Counseling Center offered individual counseling sessions in Chinese, English, and Korean as well as group counseling sessions in Korean. Hanyang University’s Office of International Affairs began to offer individual counseling sessions catered to international students, which, like Ewha’s, were available in Chinese, English, and Korean. The Student Counseling Center of Korea University released instructions on how to apply for counseling—available both online and offline. Eligible students included undergraduate and graduate students, and the service began running from November 1. Regarding the emergency counseling services provided by Yonsei’s Student Counseling Center, Seo explained that it was a direct order from Yonsei’s President Suh Seoung-hwan. Even students from the KLI were encouraged to apply despite originally being ineligible for regular counseling sessions due to their status as unofficial students. 

   The events of October 29 have caused several Korean universities to reassess the efficacy of their disaster response methods. Seo stated that certain actions were taken to assure Yonsei students of their safety. All the Automated Heart Defibrillators[3] installed around the campus were inspected, and their locations were posted on the Yonsei website. A disaster response training was also conducted on November 16 by the fire department, military, and first responders. 

   When asked about the university’s responsibility in times of crisis, Seo responded that it is to ensure that students can concentrate on their studies and live in the safest environment possible. He also added that—as a large institution—it is the school's duty to help students overcome the damage caused by external factors.

 Student action

   The disaster especially came as a shock to students. It created an environment of anger and grief within the community. Many went on social media to voice their distress regarding the tragedy and the inaction of the supposed “people in power.” Helpline services for the victims circulated all over Instagram and Twitter. And many of the posts voiced individual condolences to the victims of the crowd surge. 

   After the establishment of a nationwide period of mourning from October 30 to November 9, several memorial services were erected throughout the city. A makeshift memorial was created near Exit 1 of Itaewon Station where hundreds of flowers and short messages stood as a reminder of the tragedy. Many of the visiting mourners were young—still reeling with the deaths of their peers. Within Sinchon, a university district, a memorial altar was set up in front of Pa-rang Ko-re. 

   The front of Seoul City Hall was where the candlelit protests against President Yoon Suk-Yeol took place. Several people blame the tragedy on the government’s failure to implement orderly crowd control prior to the night. The outcome of this event has established an environment of hostility and distrust toward national leaders. Many youths reflected on a similar tragedy less than a decade ago—the sinking of MV Sewol where hundreds of young lives were lost due to the inaction of the government—and called for immediate change.

Student response

   Unrest continues to plague the young demographic. The loss of one’s own peers has left a crater within the community of Korean universities and its students. Especially amongst witnesses of the event, a heavy weight of uncertainty remains to be unloaded. The Annals reached out to several university students and attempted to understand their general impression of the tragedy.  

   Lee Se-rin (Soph., Dept. of Psychology, Yonsei Univ.) anticipated an exciting Halloween night as she had a positive experience from last year’s festivities. Despite the crowd, Se-rin and her friends managed to stay in a bar for several hours. They were completely oblivious to the ongoing situation until they left later in the evening. She explained what happened when a succession of fire trucks began pulling up to the main road, saying “I tried my best to stay calm and we eventually left the neighborhood.”

   Se-rin discovered the severity of the incident the next day and was in a state of disbelief. “I could not register what happened because it truly seemed impossible,” she said. Her numbness evolved into sadness when she began to read reports of the incident. When asked about Yonsei’s emergency counseling service, Se-rin responded that universities have a responsibility to aid their students—especially foreign students. “Their [foreign students] family or guardians are not here so the only people they can rely on is the school,” she furthered. 

   Lee Ye-chan (Fresh., Global Finance, Chung-Ang Univ.) described his experience at Itaewon as entirely unthinkable. He expected the large crowds and was more than eager to attend the neighborhood festivities precisely because of it. “My friends and I heard that Itaewon was the place to be on Halloween,” he said. 

    Ye-chan and his friends were unaware of the situation’s severity until the next day. He was completely shocked to hear the number of casualties and was left feeling overwhelmed. He furthered, “It was really traumatizing because that could have happened to me. It could have happened to any of us if we were at the wrong place at the wrong time.” In his school campus, a memorial altar was created for two Chung-Ang University students that lost their lives to the surge. Emergency counseling services were also offered by the university. When asked about his opinions regarding university mental health services in the aftermath of the Itaewon tragedy, Ye-chan replied that the Halloween accident specifically affected university students like himself, so it was only right that they were offered mental health services. “It [university’s support] made me feel a lot safer because I knew that I had someone to reach out to. It felt like I could rely on my university during this tragedy,” he concluded.

   Kristofers Gobiņš (Jr., Media Comm., Sejong Univ.) is an exchange student from Lithuania who was curious to see Itaewon’s Halloween festivities for the first time. The prospect of large crowds was a nonissue at first. “My intention was to see some cool costumes, dress myself up, and have a great time,” he said. Gobiņš repeated several times in disbelief that the reality of the situation “didn’t really click at first.”

   Many of his friends were shaken from the incident and required the rest of the weekend to heal. During that time, Sejong University emailed its entire student body about emergency counseling services being offered for both regular and exchange students. Gobiņš, like the other interviewees, expected support from his university because many of the victims were students. “The services show that they [Sejong University] care, and I do appreciate that,” he said.

Impacts on mental health

   Unlike data on fatalities and injuries, the psychological effects of the incident are difficult to enumerate. Kim Yong-tae (Adjunct Prof., Dept. of Psychology, Hanyang Univ.) told the Annals that the Itaewon incident has undoubtedly caused psychological anxiety toward largescale events; it is possible for younger individuals to develop hostile sentiments regarding society and perhaps garner a general distrust towards the government. Kim said that most people experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when they witness or experience a major accident. Additionally, traumatic events often result in lasting anxiety and could develop into agoraphobia[4] or other specific phobias, and may be severely debilitating to one’s life.

   When asked about the importance of therapy as a response to the tragedy, Kim said that it may be difficult to overcome anxiety without professional guidance. Psychological treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—a type of talk-therapy—are highly effective for trauma victims as it helps them differentiate objective facts from subjective thoughts and fears. Kim concluded that it is necessary to create a safe environment where negative, psychologically detrimental emotions can be reduced, as well as aid victims’ swift recoveries through proper counseling treatments.

[1] Interior and Safety Ministry

[2] National Police Agency

[3] Automated Heart Defibrillator: A portable device that provides electrical currents to the heart

[4] Agoraphobia: Fear and anxiety over situations that are difficult to escape (i.e. crowded areas or open spaces)