There is no loud ‘costume party’… Drive on the right while maintaining control
Police, district office, and fire department all mobilized… “Why didn’t I do it last year?” Anger and regret
The streets of Hongdae are ‘busy’ on the Saturday before Halloween Day.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Dong-ju = The streets of Hongdae, Mapo-gu, Seoul are crowded with citizens on the 28th, ahead of Halloween Day. 2023.10.28 [email protected]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Incident Team = Crowds of people who wanted to enjoy the weekend ahead of Halloween flocked to the streets of Hongdae in Mapo-gu, Seoul on Saturday the 28th. Ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster, citizens continued to pay their respects to the victims throughout the day in the Itaewon area.
On this night, the streets of Hongdae were crowded with couples, families, friends, citizens and foreign tourists who came to enjoy the weekend from dusk.
As the night deepened, restaurants and bars filled with customers, and citizens lined up at stalls lined up here and there to look at various trinkets and food.
Some bars hung up Halloween decorations such as skulls and pumpkins, and employees dressed in Halloween costumes solicited customers.
Following a child wearing a jack-o-lantern mask, a symbol of Halloween, a man was also seen wearing the costume and hairstyle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Many citizens were seen wearing Halloween cosplay, including Hanbok, Pierrot, and Marvel superhero costumes.
However, there was not an overall noisy festival atmosphere, and the crowd was not so large that there was no room to move.
People moved leisurely through downtown streets and alleys, and even in some congested areas, they moved in an orderly manner, following the control of police and district office officials.
Citizens passing on the right side of the safety fence on the evening of the 28th, Saturday before Halloween.
[촬영 박형빈]
Jeong (20), a college student who came out to play with three friends, said, “This year was my first Halloween as an adult. I was worried what would happen if there were too many people, but I think it’s still appropriate.”
All relevant agencies, including the police, district office, and fire department, were mobilized to manage the crowd.
Police installed safety fences on major streets to allow citizens to move in both directions without getting mixed up. Police riot squad buses and broadcasting vehicles with messages emphasizing safety accident prevention were placed throughout the area.
On the stairs of the subway station, Seoul Transportation Corporation employees controlled the number of passengers, and the fire department’s temporary emergency medical center and the Mapo-gu Office’s Halloween joint situation room were set up.
Inspector Kim, who was managing the crowds in the narrow alley, said, “I inspected the site a few days ago and made full preparations, but I am glad that there were not as many people as I expected.”
Police patrolling the quiet alleys around Gangnam Station on the evening of the 28th, Saturday before Halloween.
[촬영 계승현]
The Gangnam Station area, which is a representative densely populated area with restaurants and bars, had a normal weekend atmosphere without any Halloween costumes or decorations.
There were not many people coming and going, and the alley in front of CGV in Gangnam Station and the side road next to Youngpoong Bookstore, which are high-density and dangerous alleys designated by the police, were not crowded at all.
Mr. Park (70), a security guard at a building containing cafes and restaurants, said, “This year, I haven’t seen a single young person wearing a costume, and it doesn’t seem like there are any people milling about.”
Jang Seon-woo (20), whom we met in front of the CGV at Gangnam Station, was asked, “Did you come out to celebrate Halloween?” He waved his hands and said, “I came out because I had a dinner date with a friend. I was searching for a good restaurant.”
A memorial message hung at the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon on the 28th, ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster.
[촬영 장보인]
In Itaewon, where the pain of the disaster had not gone away, the streets were crowded with citizens and tourists who came out to enjoy the weekend, but the scenery was not much different from any other weekend.
At the intersection in front of the Hamilton Hotel, about 10 police officers were guiding traffic, and a section of about 200m was blocked on two lanes in both directions near Exit 1 of Itaewon Station. An order maintenance line was set up in the middle of the World Food Street.
Kim Hyeong-seok (28), who came with his girlfriend, said, “I usually enjoy Halloween parties, but there was a big accident last year, so I decided to spend it quietly this year.”
At the site of the disaster, citizens continued to pay their respects all day long, a day before the first anniversary.
The area in front of the memorial wall was filled with drinks, snacks, and flowers brought by mourners. On top of the old, faded memorial message, a new, colorful post-it note saying ‘I will remember’ was added.
Ahn Ye-ryeong (19), who we met here, said, “There are people who blame individuals at the time of the disaster, and I also thought that way, but I feel ashamed,” and added, “It is unfortunate that the truth is not being properly investigated.”
Zhao Xinyi (23), a Taiwanese national, said, “I heard about the accident on the news and thought, ‘How could something like this happen?'” and added, “I was traveling to Korea and heard that it was the first anniversary of the accident, so I wanted to come and pay tribute in person.” .
Activists of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster Citizens’ Countermeasures Committee and others took out purple bracelets and ribbons prepared to commemorate the first anniversary of the disaster from jack-o-lantern baskets and distributed them to citizens.
Artist Kwon Eun-bi, who was in charge of designing the ’10/29 Memory and Safety Road’, said, “Some people blamed Halloween and the people who gathered to enjoy Halloween, but that’s not the point. There were other problems, such as poor crowd management. He explained, “I picked up the basket to symbolize that Halloween can continue.”
A bouquet of flowers and a memorial message placed on the Itaewon memorial wall on the 28th, ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster.
[촬영 장보인]
Unlike last year, citizens could not hide their disappointment at the sight of thorough crowd management.
A middle-aged woman who is a native of Yongsan-gu said, “There were no police last year, so why is it suddenly like this this year? I’m really angry. Even if there were only this many police officers last year, there were no accidents. I jumped out in my pajamas when I heard the news that day last year, and I’m still traumatized. “It remains,” he said angrily.
Mr. A, in his 30s, who came from Daejeon to Itaewon to commemorate an acquaintance who died in a disaster, said, “I did what I should have done too late. I was behind the scenes.” He added, “Even if only a portion of the personnel deployed to the protest site at the time had rushed here and controlled it, “People would have lived,” he said, raising his voice.
A woman in her 20s whom we met near Gangnam Station cautiously revealed, “I stayed in Itaewon until 8 p.m. on the day of the disaster and managed to escape,” and reflected, “I feel really safe today. Itaewon was so crowded.”
According to Seoul Metropolitan Government data, as of 8 p.m. on this day, about 90,000 people gathered on the streets of Hongdae, putting the congestion level at ‘crowded’ level. At 10 p.m., the number decreased slightly to about 80,000.
As of 10 p.m., the crowd at Itaewon Special Tourist Zone was about 14,000 people, and Gangnam Station was about 50,000 people, which were at a ‘slightly crowded’ or ‘average’ level.
(Reporters Bo-ram Yoon, Hyeong-bin Park, Seon Hyeon-hyeon, and Bo-in Jang)
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2023/10/28 23:31 Sent
2023-10-28 14:31:45
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