On the night of October 29, following the lifting of the mask mandate for the first time in three years, about 100,000 people gathered in Itaewon for the much anticipated Halloween celebrations. The excitement came to a close by 10 p.m., when an uncontrolled crowd crush broke out in a narrow, steep alleyway, suffocating 156 people to death. This raises the fundamental yet perplexing question, “Why did it occur?” Interestingly enough, the modern history of South Korea offers a potential answer.

South Korea’s emblematic tagline, “Miracle on the Han River”, is a double-edged sword. The remarkable economic development following the Korean War — hence the tagline — fully industrialized South Korea within only a few decades, setting it as a model for developing countries to come. However, the social ills that most other developed nations, which began industrializing in the 18th or 19th century, ironed out over centuries were inevitably condensed to just a few decades in South Korea. The heavy focus on the industry also bred the ppalli ppalli (quickly quickly) culture and an excessive obsession over materialistic values, yielding little time for the non-material culture to catch up to the pace of material development. While economic standards continued to soar, the cultural lag has undermined progress in thoughts, beliefs, and ideologies.

The most painful legacy of this is the prevalent lack of safety awareness. In construction sites, factories, and roads, safety was compromised in the interest of maximizing financial benefits or convenience, and sensitivity to safety started to be considered a nuisance. This fundamental shortcoming in South Korean society became evident in the form of mass casualty events. On June 29, 1995, the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul collapsed due to flawed construction, killing more than 500 people. Then, in April 16, 2014, the sinking of the MV Sewol ferry took away 306 lives, including those of 250 high school students; this was mainly caused by the overloading of cargo and incompetent rescue operations. With stricter regulations and constant monitoring by authorities, as well as a stronger sense of responsibility of entities that had the decision-making power, the direct and indirect causes of these incidents could have been eradicated.

The recent tragedy at Itaewon is an aching reminder of this chronic problem. Even though the local government predicted the magnitude of the crowd, insufficient control was implemented, and the police failed to deal adequately with reports filed hours before the first occurrences of cardiac arrests. There are clearly multiple underlying reasons behind the disappointing preparation and response, but in the end, the deeply rooted complacent attitude towards safety is what let a preventable disaster happen, just as in 1995 and 2014.

Adding to the shock were the actions of immature individuals. Although specific details are yet to be uncovered, multiple videos on social media captured partygoers singing and dancing while ambulances raced past them and medical teams performed resuscitation on victims. And while media portrayal of the event brought about sympathy for the victims and their families from the majority of the public, some mocked and groundlessly condemned those who visited Itaewon, shifting the blame to the victims of this incident. These seemingly inhuman responses by a portion of the nation are another indicator of a cultural lag in South Korea; they are an alert that we should start paying more attention to values like moral consciousness and civic awareness.

But even amidst the despairing accounts of the incident, there was some heartwarming news. Many witnesses and survivors proactively assisted first-aiders by conducting CPR or looking after the injured. In addition to this, there were owners at nearby stores who let people in to help them escape the stampede, as well as people who helped pull up those stuck in the alleyway from elevated platforms. These accounts present themselves as a ray of hope for South Korea and manifests that morality and consciousness still have a place in the country.

With lingering regrets and traces of optimism, we face a crucial turning point that might dictate the course of safety in South Korea. Choosing an expedient and superficial way out of this situation might be quick and will definitely save some faces, but the roots of the problem will remain unaddressed and pave the way for similar events to recur. It is time for a real change.