Seoul to hold Oct. 24 civic memorial and Oct. 29 service for Itaewon crush anniversary
In short
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Oct. 5 that a civic memorial for the 10·29 Itaewon crowd crush will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Seoul Plaza, open to anyone without registration, and that an official fourth-anniversary memorial service will be held at 10:29 a.m. on Oct. 29 at Gwanghwamun north plaza with about 1,000 attendees. The events are organised jointly with bereaved families' and civic groups and the Seoul city government. Pre-registration for the anniversary service runs from Oct. 6 to 19 online, with a random lottery if demand exceeds capacity.
Read the full story 2 min read
South Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Oct. 5 that it will hold a civic memorial on Oct. 24 and a fourth-anniversary memorial service on Oct. 29 to commemorate the victims of the 10·29 Itaewon crowd crush and to console bereaved families and victims. The ministry said the events will be held jointly with the 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families' Council, the 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Citizens' Countermeasures Committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. [ 2 , 3 ]
The civic memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Seoul Plaza and is open to anyone, with no separate registration required. The official memorial service will begin at 10:29 a.m. on Oct. 29 at Gwanghwamun north plaza, with about 1,000 people expected, including government and party representatives, National Assembly members, civic groups and members of the public, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun and CBS NoCut News. [ 2 , 3 ]
The service is to open with a silent tribute, followed by a memorial address by a government representative and a greeting from a bereaved family representative. A memorial video looking back at the four years since the disaster and carrying the meaning of mourning and truth-finding will be shown, and a representative of the 35 overseas bereaved family members who came to Korea for the events will speak. Novelist Jeong Bo-ra will read a “writing of memory”, bereaved families and citizens will read a fourth-anniversary pledge, and singers and musical actors will take part in memorial performances. [ 2 , 3 ]
Members of the public who want to attend the Oct. 29 service can register online from Oct. 6 to 19 through the memorial website, which can also be reached by searching “Itaewon 4th anniversary” on major portals, the outlets reported. If the number of applicants exceeds capacity, attendees will be chosen by random lottery. Further details are available from the Itaewon disaster fourth-anniversary memorial office. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The government first organised an official government-level memorial last year, three years after the disaster, Kyunghyang Shinmun reported, noting that the third-anniversary service was held at Gwanghwamun Plaza and included a memorial message delivered on video by President Lee Jae-myung. [ 2 ]
Shin Ki-dong, head of the 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Damage Relief and Memorial Support Team, said he hoped the events would be an occasion to deeply engrave “the heart of memory”, which does not forget the victims, and “the heart of solidarity”, in which people rely on one another, and asked for public interest and participation. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The ceremonies give bereaved families, victims and the public a government-backed occasion to mourn and, as the organisers describe it, to restate the meaning of truth-finding four years after the disaster. It is the second consecutive year the government has held an official commemoration, after first doing so last year, three years after the crush. With overseas bereaved families travelling to Korea and public registration open, the events draw attention beyond those directly affected.
Key facts
- The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on Oct. 5 that a civic memorial will be held on Oct. 24 and a fourth-anniversary memorial service on Oct. 29 for the 10·29 Itaewon crowd crush. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The events are organised jointly with the 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families' Council, the 10·29 Itaewon Disaster Citizens' Countermeasures Committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The civic memorial will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Seoul Plaza and anyone may attend without prior registration. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The fourth-anniversary memorial service will be held at 10:29 a.m. on Oct. 29 at Gwanghwamun north plaza, with about 1,000 attendees including government and party representatives, National Assembly members, civic groups and members of the public. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Pre-registration for the memorial service runs from Oct. 6 to 19 through an online site; if demand exceeds capacity, attendees will be selected by random lottery. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- A representative of 35 overseas bereaved family members visiting Korea will speak at the service. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The programme includes a silent tribute, a memorial address by a government representative, a greeting by a bereaved family representative, a memorial video, a reading by novelist Jeong Bo-ra, a pledge read by bereaved families and citizens, and memorial performances by singers and musical actors. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The government first held an official government-level memorial last year, three years after the disaster. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on Oct. 5 that it will hold a civic memorial on Oct. 24 and a fourth-anniversary memorial service on Oct. 29. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The events are held jointly with the bereaved families' council, the civic countermeasures committee and the Seoul Metropolitan Government. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The civic memorial is at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Seoul Plaza and requires no registration, while the memorial service is at 10:29 a.m. on Oct. 29 at Gwanghwamun north plaza. [ 2 , 3 ]
- About 1,000 people are expected at the Oct. 29 memorial service. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Pre-registration for the memorial service runs from Oct. 6 to 19 online, with a random lottery if the number of applicants exceeds capacity. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- A representative of 35 overseas bereaved family members in Korea for the memorial events will deliver a greeting at the service. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Whether President Lee Jae-myung or other named officials will attend the Oct. 29 service. The documents refer only to government and party representatives and do not say who will take part or whether the president will attend.
- How many people can register for the Oct. 29 memorial service, and what the venue's capacity is. The documents say about 1,000 people will attend and that a lottery applies if capacity is exceeded, but do not give the capacity figure.
- Whether any new government measures on establishing the facts of the disaster will be announced at the events. Kyunghyang Shinmun describes the memorial video as carrying the meaning of mourning and truth-finding, but the documents state no planned announcement or measure.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Newsis reports the fourth-anniversary memorial service on Oct. 29 and the Oct. 6–19 pre-registration period. [ 1 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reports the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's plan for the Oct. 24 civic memorial and the Oct. 29 memorial service. [ 2 ]
- CBS NoCut News reports the same ministry announcement with the full programme and registration details. [ 3 ]
- Civic memorial scheduled to begin at Seoul Plaza, open to anyone without registration (Oct. 24). [ 2 , 3 ]
- Fourth-anniversary memorial service scheduled to begin at Gwanghwamun north plaza (Oct. 29). [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]