Itaewon, locally known as Itaewon-dong, is a district situated in Seoul, South Korea, is best known for its exquisite dining and nightlife featuring Korean BBQ restaurants, bistros and low-priced food stalls catering to millions of its visitors. It is a place of diversity and celebration in the heart and soul of its capital city, Seoul.

However, one of South Korea’s biggest tragedies hit on the 29th of October and unfolded in front of the eyes of millions.

Itaewon is not only famous for its everyday nightlife but is also a hot place for young people celebrating Halloween. Many citizens and tourists come to Itaewon to spend probably one of the best Halloweens in their lives. But this wasn’t the case this year when after three long years of pandemic everyone gathered in Itaewon to celebrate Halloween. Calls started going to the police at 6: 30 p.m., people crying out for help that the alleyways were filled with people which could eventually cost the lives of people out there. However, police didn’t dispatch out immediately as it was not unusual for Seoul nor for Itaewon.

The situation got worse from 8 pm to 9 pm when footage surfaced on social media platforms, of people stuck in small alleys and no space for moving a bit. But finally, by 9 pm another emergency caller cried to the police for an immediate dispatch as any accidents could occur at any moment.

The place flocked with ambulances with stretchers of people and medical help giving people CPR on the ground as 20-40 lay on the ground due to fainting or worse, a cardiac arrest. Brave civilians and tourists also aided the medic, pulling out people from piles of bodies. And finally, by midnight, the scale of the accidents was coming to realization - it was becoming one of the biggest tragedies in South Korea in recent years since the Sewol Ferry tragedy in 2014.

On the next morning of the dreadful day, at 6 am, it was declared a nationwide mourning period, as from the Itaewon Halloween crush, around 150 youngsters passed away and 160 faced non-fatal injuries and are admitted to hospitals.