Foreign families of Itaewon disaster victims demand truth, accountability
For the first time since the deadly crowd crush in central Seoul’s multicultural Itaewon area, families of foreign victims gathered in Korea on Tuesday to mark the disaster’s third anniversary. Thirty-six bereaved relatives from 10 countries convened at a memorial in central Seoul, calling for truth, accountability and stronger safety standards following the Halloween tragedy on Oct. 29, 2022, which claimed 159 lives, including 26 foreign nationals. Most victims were in their 20s and 30s and had come here to study or experience Korean culture, with families remembering their loved ones’ aspirations and their trust that Korea would keep them safe. "Accidents like this have never happened before. Why now? We still wake up every morning and hope this is just a bad dream," said Erik Evensen, the father of Norwegian victim Stine Roalkvam Evensen. Damira, the sister of Kazakh national Madina Shemiyazov, added, "Our children loved Korea and came here to study … We thought Korea was safe. We just want to prevent this from happening again — and hope for strong safety education from kin
