INTERVIEW 1 year after Itaewon crowd crush, bereaved mother still searches for answers
Choi Sun-mi, front, mother of one of the bereaved families of Itaewon crowd crush victims, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Dec. 13, 2022. Korea Times file
'I'd like to see a permanent memorial space placed in Yongsan Park.'
The night of Oct. 29, 2022 still lingers as a harrowing memory for Choi Sun-mi, the 50-year-old mother of the late Park Ga-young, one of the 159 victims of the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon, an entertainment district in Seoul.
With the first anniversary of the tragedy approaching, Choi relives the traumatic night over and over again recollecting what happened.
"On that night, I got a call from Ga-young's friend. She abruptly told me that Ga-young died. I asked her who she was with, and the paramedic next to her then told me to pick up Ga-young from Soonchunhyang University Hospital Seoul to which she was being taken," Choi told The Korea Times during a recent interview.
From Hongseong, South Chungcheong province, Choi and her husband rushed to the hospital but had to wait 12 hours only to learn that her body had been moved to another hospital.
During the 12 hours of waiting, no one gave her any information about Ga-young. The couple had to take things into their own hands. Through the aid logs, she later learned the daughter had been transferred to Gandong Sacred Heart Hospital at 5 a.m. on Oct. 30 and that she remained unidentified.
"At Gangdong, she was handed over to me naked with only a dirty sheet covering her body. I was only given five minutes to see my daughter. I didn't get to touch her hands and feet, I didn't get to hold her in my arms once," Choi recalled, her throat choking with tears. "They should have let me hold her. They should have let me do that."
Ga-young was a sophomore at Mokwon University in Daejeon studying fashion design. She and her friend came up to Itaewon to visit a gallery earlier that day. Ga-young was carried out from the funeral home to her grave on her 20th birthday, Nov. 1.
Among many questions, the mother wonders most why Ga-young had remained unidentified although the mother talked to the emergency worker in the ambulance and why Ga-young's body was presented naked to her.
"We want to know most about what happened during the last moments of the children and why. Also, we want to know the structural cause that enabled the tragedy to happen in the first place and how the government failed to protect public safety. We want to make high-level officials accountable, who refuse to take responsibility for botched planning and the response," Choi said.
Choi, like other bereaved families, wants an independent counsel to investigate the case.
"The Itaewon Special Act is aimed at setting up an independent investigation committee for an independent counsel's probe into the tragedy. It is the only way that can extensively scrutinize what had happened and prevent disasters like this from happening," Choi added.
However, the legislation of the special act is pending at the National Assembly ― some say the lawmakers won't act until May next year when the 21st Assembly will close.
Joint memorial altar for the victims of the Itaewon tragedy, set up at Seoul Plaza next to City Hall, is seen in this file photo. Yonhap
'Our children are with us at the memorial site'
Since the disaster, Choi has been spending most of her time at the joint memorial altar for the victims of the Itaewon tragedy set up at Seoul Plaza next to City Hall.
The memorial altar was initially installed near Noksapyeong Station near Itaewon shortly after the tragedy. However, due to harassment and abuse targeting the bereaved families by the far-right wing group New Freedom Union, the families decided to relocate the altar to Seoul Plaza.
"On the day of relocation, which was one day before the 100th day of the tragedy, the police dispatched thousands of officers to Gwanghwamun Square to block the installation. Citizens pushed part of the police task force away and we were able to set up the memorial altar at Seoul Plaza instead."
Since February, the bereaved families have been in a standoff with the Seoul Metropolitan Government which threatened to close the memorial site the families "abruptly" set up at Seoul Plaza. Citizen volunteers and members of civic groups have been guarding the space, even signing up for time slots to protect it.
"When the memorial altar was in Noksapyeong, the bereaved mothers were not able to eat because we were in such deep sorrow. But after relocating to Seoul Plaza and witnessing so many citizens standing in solidarity with us, we gained strength."
Most importantly, the memorial altar became a space where the bereaved families talked about their children as if they were alive.
"I show videos and photos of Ga-young to the mothers. I could go on forever about all the things that she made me proud of. As you see, we lost our children too soon. We have been robbed of moments to watch our children grow, graduate school, get married and so on. This is why having a physical space for memorialization is vital. It's like we are raising our children together here."
The mother didn't hide her disappointment at the city government.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon reaffirmed his stance encouraging the families to remove it voluntarily.
"Until the special law is passed and the independent probe is undertaken, the memorial altar will not be moved an inch," she said.
A passerby walks down the October 29 Memorial Alley, the site of tragedy now consisting of memorial installations, Oct. 26. Korea Times Photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Site of tragedy to signify people's right to safety and justice
On Thursday, the "October 29 Memorial Alley" was revealed to the public. It is the interim memorial installation placed at the alleyway next to Hamilton Hotel, which is the site of the tragedy. The installation consists of three billboards where people can leave messages of condolences, and floor plaques written in 14 languages in memory of the non-Korean victims.
Choi explained that the installation project shows one example of meaningful progress that the bereaved families, citizens' committee and merchants of Itaewon neighborhood made together.
"'October 29 Memorial Alley' is part of the everyday lives of Yongsan District residents. Just like how Halloween was one of those days where young people gathered to just have fun, we wanted this street to co-exist with the everyday rhythms of the city," Choi said of the significance of the project.
She added: "Memorials like this serve as a constant reminder of people's right to live in a safe and just society. Ultimately, when the special bill is passed and legislation for remembrance is provided, I'd like to see a permanent memorial space placed in Yongsan Park. People's rights to safety must be guarded at all times and costs."
Cho Hye-yoon (hyeyoon.cho@mail.mcgill.ca) is an intern reporter of The Korea Times.