"Heartbreaking Sacrifice... Such Tragedies Must Never Happen Again"… Memorial Processions Continue Across the Country for the Second Day

On the 1st, students and citizens are paying their respects at the joint memorial altar for the Itaewon accident victims set up at Hanyang University in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the fourth day after the Itaewon tragedy, a wave of mourning continues nationwide to honor the victims. More than 10,000 people paid their respects at the joint memorial altar set up in front of Seoul City Hall Plaza within a day. Visitors came to the altar regardless of time?early morning, lunchtime, after work, and at night. In front of the altar decorated with hundreds of chrysanthemums, bouquets brought by mourners piled up high. The guestbook was mostly filled with messages saying, "Sorry we couldn't protect you." Some silently placed chrysanthemum flowers and mourned, while others bowed deeply and then turned away in tears.

Exit 1 of Itaewon Station, adjacent to the accident site, was filled with condolence flowers and messages from the day of the incident. About 100 nearby shops and businesses closed until the 5th to participate in the mourning. As of 11 a.m. on the 1st, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that the total death toll from this accident is 156. The lost and found center on the first floor of the multipurpose indoor gymnasium in Wonhyo-ro, Seoul, will operate 24 hours daily until 6 p.m. on the 6th. Personal belongings such as mobile phones, clothes, and glasses collected from the accident site are being stored there.

On the 4th day since the Itaewon crowd crush disaster, injured individuals are searching for lost belongings at the Itaewon Accident Lost and Found Center set up in the multipurpose indoor gymnasium on Wonhyo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 1st. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Memorial altars were set up not only in all 25 autonomous districts of Seoul and university campuses but also across the country to mourn the tragic deaths of young people. Some universities installed memorial altars to honor deceased students from their alma maters. Seoul National University postponed the "100th Convergence Culture Concert" scheduled for that afternoon. Other universities also canceled or postponed planned festivals, concerts, and campus events. The student council of Chongshin University, a Protestant-affiliated university, held a "special noon prayer meeting" in front of the school’s main building the day before.

Local governments conducted emergency safety inspections of major facilities, and large-scale autumn festivals and events planned as in-person gatherings for the first time in three years since COVID-19 are being canceled one after another. Yongsan District designated the period from October 30 to December 31 as a mourning period and canceled all events and festivals. Private companies also decided to cancel or scale down events during and after the mourning period. Before the first game of the professional baseball Korean Series held during the mourning period, a moment of silence is observed, and games 1 through 4 will proceed without ceremonial first pitches or cheerleading activities. All players and umpires will wear mourning ribbons on the left side of their caps. On social media, the memorial procession continues with posters and hashtags saying "PRAY FOR ITAEWON," expressing condolences for the Itaewon tragedy.

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