[News Today] Delayed memories of Itaewon tragedy

[LEAD]
It's been exactly three years since the Itaewon tragedy.

But for the firefighters and police officers who responded that night, the trauma has not faded.

Experts warn of the growing risks of delayed-onset PTSD, a condition where memories resurface and intensify long after the incident is over.

[REPORT]
First responder Kim Jong-soo reported to the site of the Itaewon crowd crush on that fateful night three years ago.

There's a scene that still remains in his head.

Kim Jong-soo / Korean Gov’t Employees’ Union
The victim’s friend wouldn’t leave the temporary memorial. We couldn’t force them out.

Lieutenant Jung Joon, who conducted CPR at the same place, cannot forget the sound of the siren.

Jung Joon / Yongsan Police Station
Even when I’m not in Itaewon, I hear the sound like a hallucination.

Such memories only grow stronger as time passes.

Jung Joon / Yongsan Police Station
At that time, I couldn’t indulge in those thoughts, but they came back stronger about three months later.

Post-traumatic stress disorder that emerges six months past the occurrence of an incident is called delayed-onset PTSD.

Unlike regular PTSD, where people grapple with symptoms such as depression in the immediate aftermath, dealing with a delayed disorder is more difficult because you don’t know when symptoms will appear.

Prof. Jeon Deok-in / Hallym Univ. Sacred Heart Hospital
Since the symptoms arise much later, patients don’t see it as PTSD and fail to connect the dots.

The fire and police agencies provided initial counseling after the disaster and recommend continued therapy, but many on the ground say it’s hard to take part.

Kim Jong-soo / Korean Gov’t Employees’ Union
We lack time and manpower. Even if I worked today, I can be called up again tomorrow.

After two firefighters who were called to the crowd crush site at the time recently took their own lives, the fire agency has begun a second round of counseling suppor, its first in three years since the tragedy.

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