Mother Who Lost Son: "I Can't Face the Square Death Stamp"

The Story of a Mother Who Lost Her Son in Itaewon That Day
MBC Interview Explains Why She Did Not Report the Death
"If Forced to Report the Death, It Would Be the Day I Die"

"If you get a family relation certificate, the deceased person has a square-shaped death stamp on it. I cannot face that document."

On October 28, in an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Kim Hee-jung, a mother who lost her son in Itaewon, Seoul, on October 29 last year, said this. It has been nine months since she lost her son, but she has not yet filed a death report. In fact, she does not intend to file one. For some, the memory of Itaewon in October may be just one of many passing incidents, but for this mother, it is an unforgettable memory forever.

Living each day in the shock and pain as if time has stopped. Kim said, "I have a daughter too, and I have to raise her, so I cannot die in a state where I cannot do anything or have not done anything." For Kim, a day’s life is not the kind of life an ordinary person experiences in daily life. The reason to continue living, the reason she must continue, all relate to that day, October 29.

MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' conducted an interview on the 28th with Kim Hee-jung, who lost her son in the Itaewon tragedy.
[Photo by MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' broadcast screen capture]

Kim’s home is near the site where the Itaewon tragedy occurred. After hearing the news of the accident at the scene, she immediately headed there.

"My phone rang, and when I answered, they said it seemed to be my son calling from the GS25 at Hamilton Hotel, that CPR had been going on for 20 minutes but he was unconscious, so please come quickly. I didn’t even put on socks or grab a bag, just took my phone and tried to stay by my son’s side. While trying to catch a taxi, I crossed the Samgakji overpass, but the traffic was at a standstill. So I got off and walked."

Kim recalled, "All I could see were firefighters running around here and there, so I thought it was a large fire and became even more anxious. Children were lying on the bare ground, not even covered with a cloth, on the cold hard ground. I thought they were lying down because of suffocation and could not believe they were dead children."

For the mother, the memory of that day is not something that will fade with time. This is also why Kim has not been able to file her son’s death report.

Kim said, "The moment I face the document that says (my son has died), I feel like I will die too, so I cannot do it." She added, "I will not file the death report in the future, and if I am forced to do so, that day will be the day I die." Kim asked her younger sibling to file the death report together on the day she dies…

On February 6, citizens are paying tribute to the victims at the joint memorial altar for the victims of the October 29 Itaewon disaster, installed in the plaza in front of Seoul City Hall. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Kim said she met her son in a dream.

"After waking from the dream, I thought about why I didn’t ask about Itaewon. Also, Minseok (my son) didn’t say anything about that day. I told him, 'Minseok, if this dream is reality and mom has been having a very long bad nightmare, how nice would that be?' Then he said, 'Mom, I like it here now,' and said he would study for exams again. Then the dream ended."

Then Kim shared what she wants to say to her son.

"I want to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t find you sooner, sorry I’m not a powerful parent, sorry I couldn’t be by your side. But because you are a deceased person who can do nothing, I will do everything I can to clear that unfair stigma on your behalf. I don’t know when that day will come, but until then, I will do my best. When the day comes that we meet, I believe you will be the first to greet me, peacefully with dad in heaven, the Virgin Mary, mom, and grandfathers from both sides. And don’t forget how much mom loved you?as much as the sky, the earth, and the universe."

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