The history of the location where the Seoul crowd crush claimed over 150 lives, 이태원 (Itaewon), is a large factor in what happened that night.
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Yongsan district, where Itaewon is located, was a colonial military base until 1945.
After the Japanese surrender, the US military began their occupation, using Yongsan as their base of operations.
And Itaewon became a “red-light district” and entertainment area for the US military.
Thus, many western cultural practices became absorbed into the area, including Halloween, which isn’t traditionally observed in Korea.
Over the decades Itaewon became an location known for internationals and travelers, and a hub for bars and clubs.
Yongsan, where Itaewon is located, is also where current President Yoon moved his offices away from the traditional Blue House.
So, much of Yongsan’s police and public safety are dedicated to security detail for Yoon.
The night of the tragedy, not enough public safety staff was dispatched to Itaewon, even though police knew sizes can go well over 100K.
And AFTERWARDS, US military were dispatched to crowd control. Further reminding Koreans of the current occupation of Korea.
It is critical to know the colonial history and oppression of Korea when understanding the tragedy in Itaewon that night.
Comments are closed.