[On Site] Shoes Covered in Dust and Phones Still Ringing... Lost and Found Center's 'Traces of That Day'

Traces Revealing the Situation at the Time
Stains, Dust, and More Everywhere
Many Small Items Like Instant Photos
‘Survivors’ Also Found Their Belongings
Lost and Found Center Open 24 Hours Until the 6th

On the 1st, at the Lost and Found Center for the 'Itaewon Disaster,' unmatched shoes stood out. Shoes that looked exactly like their owners were waiting for someone without their owners./Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] On the afternoon of the 1st, on the first floor of the multipurpose indoor gymnasium in Wonhyo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, traces of ‘that day’ were laid out. This gymnasium is a space prepared by the police to help owners find lost items from the ‘Itaewon accident’.

Upon entering the gymnasium entrance, the interior cannot be seen due to curtains over 2 meters high. As soon as the curtain was pulled aside and I entered, a ‘creaking’ sound was heard. This sound alone filled the 100-pyeong (approximately 330 square meters) gymnasium. Gray cloth was spread on the floor, and various items were placed on top. Shoes without their pairs caught the eye. Shoes that looked exactly like their owners were waiting for someone without an owner.

There was a commonality among the items of different colors: black stains. Famous brand shoes with a red logo had the logo obscured by the stains. Beige jumpers and white pants were scraped or torn from contact with the floor. Black outerwear was stained with banknotes, leaves, and dirt in various places.

Among the lost items were instant photos presumed to have been taken on the day of the accident. In the photos, people wore rabbit headbands and made finger heart gestures. People dressed as ‘Teletubbies’ and wearing sunglasses made playful expressions. One cellphone was still ringing an alarm. There was no one to answer it.

A common feature was seen in objects of different colors. It was a black stain.
Photo by Joint Press Corps

A middle-aged couple and a young woman entered the gymnasium to look for items. As they headed toward a table where bags were placed, the middle-aged woman began to cry. Another member of the group hugged and supported her. They also went toward the area with shoes. The middle-aged woman pointed at a shoe with her finger and then sat down right there. The only sound coming from the gymnasium was the noise she made.

There were ‘survivors’ who came to find lost items that day. A woman in her twenties with a cast on her arm came to the gymnasium to find a lost shoe. Recalling the incident, she said, “I thought I was dead and briefly fainted because I couldn’t breathe. Fortunately, a foreigner next to me shouted and woke me up, so I was able to endure and was rescued.”

As of 6:30 PM on the 1st, 35 people including bereaved families and injured individuals visited, and 46 items were returned to their owners. The Yongsan Police Station will operate the Lost and Found Center 24 hours a day until 6 PM on the 6th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Similarly, Jo (32), who came out after finding one black shoe, visited Itaewon with three friends on the day of the accident. Jo, who was caught in the crowd in an alley for an hour after the accident, said there were no visible injuries but “a doctor’s opinion suspected nerve damage in two toes.”

The police announced that since the 31st of last month, they have been storing 124 bags, 258 sets of clothes, 256 pairs of shoes, 66 single shoes without pairs, and 156 valuables including electronic devices in the gymnasium. As of 6:30 p.m. on the 1st, 35 people including bereaved families and injured persons visited, and 46 items were returned to their owners. The Yongsan Police Station operates the lost and found center 24 hours a day until 6 p.m. on the 6th.

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