1.19
Locations Visited
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10.29 Disaster Site
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Memorial For the Victims of the Sampung Department Store Collapse
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Jeon Tae-Il Foundation
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Jeon Tae-Il Statue
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@Itaewon
@Yangjae
@Jongno-gu
Photo Gallery
10.29 Itaewon Tragedy
Over 159 people were killed and around 196 left injured on the night of 29th October 2022, in a crowd crush in Itaewon, South Korea. A preventable human disaster to call it the least, this tragedy resulted in mass resentment from the nation against the mismanagement of the police authorities who failed to perform their duties on time.
The main victims of this incident were in their twenties, the youth of today, who were there to celebrate Halloween with their friends and to have a good time.
The alley the incident occured has walls covered with messages for the victims, from people all over the world. A few blocks away from the site of tragedy is a tent set up with pictures of the victims in a sort of memorial, honoring their deaths, and ensuring they will not be forgotten.
Memorial Statue for Victims of Sampoong Department Store Collapse
On the 29th of June, 1995, Sampoong Department Store collapsed, resulting in the death of over five-hundred people and injuring about a thousand. The cause of this avoidable disaster was a structural failure and gross negligence by the authorities. Today, a memorial has been constructed to honour the victims and remember the lives lost. This memorial stands 5 km away from the actual location of the site of the tragedy, which is a very high-end locality and a tragic monument such as this would “ruin the reputation” of the area.
Jeon Tae-Il Memorial
Jeon Tae Il was an activist who fought for the rights of workers and dedicated his life to the betterment of workers conditions.The workers were forced to work in pathetic circumstances and terrible hygiene. They were not cared for at all, and were asked to overwork for hours with minimum wages.
During one of the protests at Pyeonghwa Market, Jeon Tae Il left the whole world in shock when he self-immolated himself, screaming his last words out in pain, “ Workers are not machines!” While in the hospital, he told his mother not to let his sacrifice go in vain and to help the labour laws be mended for a better future. His mother went on to fight for the laws and sacrificed herself to the struggle too.