[The Editors' Verdict] There Is No Such Thing as a Developing Country-Type Disaster

-Expressing a tragic accident as a developing country-type accident
-Where is the distinction between developed and developing countries in the value of life?
-Healing, recovery, and cause investigation as social tasks

On the night of the 29th, 154 people died and 149 were injured in a crush accident that occurred in an alley next to the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon. Some refer to this disaster as a developing country-type accident or a developing country-type human-made disaster. A developing country-type accident refers to an accident that can be prevented if only the principles are properly followed. Typical examples include entrapment, falls, and fall accidents at construction sites and factories. Originally called traditional accidents, the term developing country-type accident is widely used in Korea. In short, it means an accident that would only happen in a developing country occurred in Korea, which is considered a developed country.

Where is the distinction between developed and developing countries in accidents, and where is it in the value of life? In our country, which is heading toward becoming a developed nation, if a department store collapses, a large bridge breaks, a ship sinks, and hundreds of people are casualties in an alley in Itaewon, does that make us a developing country? While every disaster has causes, how can those causes and responses be divided into a binary of developed and developing countries? Many experts argue that this accident, which occurred due to an uncontrolled environment with an unspecified crowd, cannot be seen as a developing country-type accident. The term developing country-type accident should not be used.

There are three things we must do now: mourning and healing, accident recovery, and cause investigation. More than 300 young people died or were injured. Not only their families, relatives, and acquaintances but also citizens at the scene, emergency responders, police, officials who fought desperately to rescue the casualties, and the public who witnessed it?all of our society must embrace the shock and sorrow we are experiencing together. From immediately after the accident, videos and photos from the scene have spread in real time on online communities and social media, and there have been cases of insulting or blaming the victims. Such behavior must be restrained, and if there are legal issues, they must be strictly punished. While the president and leaders of all parties focus on accident recovery and mourning, some try to exploit this politically. This is not politics. What our society must pursue after such an accident is not a developed or first-class society but a warm and healthy society.

Along with accident recovery, cause investigation is important. How many people actually gathered in the alley with a slope of only 4 meters, what was the crowd’s movement path, where did the crush start, and why did the situation escalate? At a festival site expected to gather 100,000 people daily at an endemic level, how were the preparations and responses by Seoul City, Yongsan District, police, and fire authorities? Were there any problems or points to improve during the accident recovery process? These must be investigated. Once the cause is identified, those responsible should be punished or dealt with accordingly.

Another point to be cautious about is comparing this accident to specific past accidents. In 2007, a bridge collapse occurred in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, killing 13 and injuring 145. In Korea, this was referred to as the American version of the ‘ㅇㅇ Bridge Collapse.’ While this was to help readers understand, it disregards those still suffering from the aftermath of that accident. In the future, if similar crush accidents occur domestically or internationally, the Itaewon disaster must not become another subject of analogy or comparison. As stated in the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association’s statement, what we must do now is ▲stop spreading unfiltered accident videos and photos, ▲avoid excessively watching on-site videos or news repeatedly, and ▲refrain from hate speech, defamation, and so on.

Lee Kyungho, Social Affairs Chief gungho@

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.