Itaewon, the Seoul district where 159 holiday revelers were crushed to death last Halloween, is neither silent nor haunted as the tragedy's first anniversary looms.
The district’s main strip, a pedestrian alleyway lined with clubs and bars with names like Craft Hans, Jilhal Bros and Dead Man’s Fingers, was pulsating Friday night. Drinkers lined bars; stylishly dressed youths strolled; a man danced under a replica great white shark hanging from a bar ceiling.“No predictions!” said one bar owner. “We are not too worried: We are a sports bar and will be packed for the Rugby World Cup.”“We don’t want to talk to media, we want to serve beer,” said a bar staffer.
A months-long police probe concluded the tragedy was “a manmade disaster.” Sixteen public officials and two companies have been prosecuted, according to the group NGO Lawyers for a Democratic Society, and’s police chief remains under investigation by prosecutors. But an impeachment motion for the minister of public information and security was overturned in court.
GIs relocated to Yellow Sea coastal bases in the 2010s and Itaewon gentrified – it boasts a multi-story Gucci store and upscale boutiques – but never lost its “abroad-at-home” vibe.weekend. In 2022, there was an added frisson to the festivities as they came at the end of two years of social distancing restrictions applied during the COVID-19.
Memories were fresh two years later when Ms. Park was engulfed in a corruption/influence-peddling scandal. She was impeached, ejected from office and jailed for almost five years.from Washington told The Washington Times this week of concerns among U.S. policymakers that 2022’s disaster fallout could have a similar impact on the fortunes of Mr. Yoon, who has cultivated stronger ties with the U.S.. One remembering Itaewon’s dead stands in front of City Hall.
Yun Bok-nam of LFDS says two companies of riot police – approximately 200 strong - monitored Itaewon in 2021. However, it is unclear if their role was crowd management or enforcing social distancing.
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