More than 153 people died in a crowd crush during a Halloween celebration in Seoul Oct. 29, according to the . Thousands of individuals gathered at the event as it was the first COVID-19 restriction-free Halloween celebration since the beginning of the pandemic. The tragedy prompted South Korea鈥檚 president to declare a weeklong period of national mourning, according to .听
Markus Algard (鈥�25), who is from South Korea, said he was devastated to learn about the surge.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 something that I was expecting,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was, of course, very worried as I have many family members living in Seoul, but thankfully none of them were affected.鈥澛�
Counselor Royce Wallace, who previously taught at a school in Seoul, also said he worried about his friends currently living there, some of whom witnessed the surge 鈥淢y one friend was actually there, and he and another friend were on the other side [of the event],鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey were shocked, and unfortunately, one of my friends threw up. They were really worried about the things that they were seeing.鈥�
They were shocked, and unfortunately, one of my friends threw up. They were really worried about the things that they were seeing.
— Counselor Royce Wallace
According to , the celebration involved 100,000 people, with police struggling to control the crowds. Many of the individuals killed were confined in a narrow alley, which is only suitable for six adults to pass through at one time, per .听聽
Amrita D鈥橲ouza (鈥�23) said she was unsurprised that the surge occurred in Seoul since it is a bustling city.
鈥淚 think that Seoul is a very busy metropolitan area,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very close-knit city. Even though South Korea is not a country where this event happens frequently, I didn鈥檛 find it too shocking that it would happen there.鈥�
On the other hand, Algard said Seoul is a 鈥渧ery organized city鈥� when addressing social issues and thus, did not expect a tragedy.
Javi Ceria (鈥�25) said his friend in Seoul was 鈥渞eally alarmed鈥� by the event.听
鈥淟uckily, he wasn鈥檛 affected by the crush, but he was distressed and took more precautions to be safe on Halloween,鈥� he said.听
Overall, Ceria said more regulations regarding mass gatherings at celebratory events should be implemented.
Luckily, he wasn鈥檛 affected by the crush, but he was distressed and took more precautions to be safe on Halloween.
— Javi Ceria (鈥�25)
鈥淭here should be more regulations to keep people safe,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n New York, Halloween incidents are common, but there are regulations in place. I think Seoul should adopt restrictions to keep partygoers safe.鈥�
Likewise, D鈥橲ouza said because mass celebratory gatherings are difficult to prevent, regulations should be implemented to avoid similar accidents in the future.
鈥淭hese events cannot be stopped as they are a part of people鈥檚 culture and people should be able to celebrate that,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, restrictions and guidelines should be imposed to safeguard these events so they don鈥檛 have to be discontinued.鈥�
Ultimately, Wallace said students should be aware of their surroundings when celebrating Halloween or other events.
鈥淢y only advice is to be careful and mindful of where you are,鈥� he said. 鈥淭ry not to put yourself in that kind of predicament that’s going to be crowded or get to be a bit unsafe, especially if no one is patrolling.鈥�
