Category: Seoul

The death toll could go even higher with many more people still in the hospital in critical condition:

As of Sunday evening, officials put the death toll at 153 and the number of injured people at 133. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said the death count could further rise as 37 of the injured people were in serious conditions.

Ken Fallas, a Costa Rican architect who went Itaewon with expat friends, used his smartphone to film video showing unconscious people being carried out from the alley as others shouted for help. He said the loud music made things more chaotic.

“When we just started to move forward, there was no way to go back,” Fallas said. “We didn’t hear anything because the music was really loud. Now, I think that was one of the main things that made this so complicated.”

Ninety-seven of the dead were women and 56 were men. More than 80% of the dead are in their 20s and 30s, but at least four were teenagers. At least 20 of the dead are foreigners from China, Russia, Iran and elsewhere. Two of the dead are U.S. citizens, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul confirmed in a statement Sunday.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but no word yet if the two Americans were USFK service members or not. This report says that USFK has not reports of any casualties though they are still accounting for personnel. Once again condolences to all the friends and families impacted by this tragic disaster.

This is absolutely horrible what happened last night in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul:

At least 146 people died and more than 150 were injured in a crowd crush in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, according to fire authorities at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday. The fire department began to receive reports of patients having difficulty breathing at 10:22 p.m. on Saturday.

Of the 146 people who died, 101 were transferred to the hospital. The remaining 45 bodies were kept on site and later moved to a nearby multi-purpose indoor gymnasium. Identifying the deceased is expected to take some time, according to fire officials. Most of the dead were in their 20s. Officials expect that the number of casualties will continue to rise throughout the day.

Choi Eul-cheon, head of the Yongsan Police’s criminal division, said, “No drug-related reports have been confirmed” in response to a question about whether drugs were involved in the incident.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but rumors being spread was that it was caused by reports that candy filled with drugs was being handed out to people and that a celebrity was at a bar that caused a large amount of people to surge into the alley next to the Hamilton Hotel. There was obviously something going on in that alley to cause so many people to surge into that direction at once. I am sure in the coming days we will find out what happened. Odds are there was plenty of USFK servicemembers at Itaewon last night. No word yet of any of the casualties were US military personnel.

On Twitter there is a lot of videos showing what happened during the stampede and the aftermath. Looking at the videos it appears that most of the victims are young women, which would make sense that they would be crushed in a crowd more easily than larger males. Warning the videos below the fold are graphic.

I am not against the upcoming ban, but I don’t think it is going to do much to clean up air pollution when so much of it is rolling in over Korea from China and their government doesn’t care:

Grade 4 diesel vehicles, the second-lowest in the country’s five-tier emissions standard, will be banned from Seoul’s central areas starting 2025.  
   
In addition, village buses, delivery motorbikes and trucks will all go electric by 2026.  
   
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon unveiled a comprehensive plan to improve air quality of his megacity dubbed Clearer Seoul 2030 on Wednesday. It’s a major part of the Korean capital’s ambition to be one of the top 10 greenest cities in the world. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

More and more people are discovering the shanty town adjacent to the posh Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul:

Jason Basulto, a 27-year-old American tourist, visited Guryong Village, one of the last remaining shanty towns in Seoul, in April this year. He had been curious about Seoul’s not-so-shiny side, like the semi-basement homes featured in “Parasite.”

“Urban slums are visible not only in Korea, but in many other countries, because the wealth gap is a global issue. But the scenery of Guryong Village in the middle of high buildings was striking,” he said.

For those who are interested in social issues, the village could be an interesting place to visit, he added.

It appears so.

On YouTube, there are a number of videos that take viewers on a virtual tour of the village, where rows of ragged shacks stand in contrast to gleaming, high-rise apartment complexes just across the road.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

To me this huge ferris wheel will just be an eye sore, there is plenty of places to go in Seoul to take in the views without this ferris wheel:

To put Seoul on a par with New York City, London, and Paris, Mayor Oh Se-hoon has some lofty ambitions. One is the world’s tallest Ferris wheel offering views over the Han River.  
   
Oh thinks the Korean capital can become one of the top five global cities. His rallying slogan for the vision doesn’t translate into very stirring English — “Attractive Seoul”— but it’s behind some very big goals. One is to attract 30 million tourists a year from across the globe. Another is to draw investors from cutting edge industries and create a new Silicon Valley in Asia.  
   
In early August, the Seoul city government announced a project called the Great Sunset Han River, which includes tourist attractions to be built such as large floating stages and waterfront sculptures. One will be the world’s tallest observation wheel, larger than the London Eye or the Singapore Flyer. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but as the article points out the slogan of “Attractive Seoul” does not have good ring to it in English. With that said it is still better than “I Seoul U” which makes no sense.

Another example of Seoul slowly getting back to normal:

 Sexual minorities in South Korea held an annual festival in downtown Seoul on Saturday after a pandemic-driven two-year hiatus, with Christian and other conservative groups opposing the high-profile event.

The 23rd Seoul Queer Culture Festival took place at Seoul Plaza, bringing together members of the LGBTQ community — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons — as well as their supporters and human rights activists.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As predicted it seems like less and less of Yongsan Garrison will become a park:

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is planning to convert part of a U.S. Forces Korea base adjacent to the new presidential office in Yongsan into a cultural space reminiscent of a “Little LA” and open it to the public in September, officials said Sunday.

The 500,000-square-meter space is just outside the defense ministry headquarters, which is being converted into the new presidential office.

The USFK plans to return the land to the South Korean government at the end of this month as part of its ongoing relocation to Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul.

“We plan to let the people see it in its exotic state as much as possible,” an official involved in the project told Yonhap News Agency, noting the area features various religious, educational and sports facilities used by the USFK.

More facilities could be added, such as cafes and exhibition or concert halls, to evoke a sense of “America Town” or “Little LA.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but I guess using this portion of Yongsan to create this “Little LA” area is better than just putting up more apartment buildings. Any predictions on how much of the old Yongsan Garrison actually becomes a city park?