In Itaewon, scars slowly heal one year after disaster

The scars of last year's deadly Halloween crowd crush are slowly healing as the Itaewon neighborhood on Sunday marked a year since the disaster that killed 159 people.

Visitors on Wednesday write and post messages to those who lost their lives during the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon on a wall next to the alleyway where the tragedy occurred. [CHO JUNG-WOO]

The scars of last year's deadly Halloween crowd crush are slowly healing as the Itaewon neighborhood on Sunday marked a year since the disaster that killed 159 people.

On Tuesday, Itaewon's streets were uncrowded, but people dipped in and out of stores and foreign tourists passed by as if the tragedy hadn't happened.

This starkly contrasted with the last time the Korea JoongAng Daily visited in late January when stores were largely empty, the neighborhood a virtual ghost town.

Businesses say that the neighborhood is slowly recovering, although it still has a long way to get back to where it was before the disaster.

“I can say more people are coming to the area compared to the beginning of the year, just a few months after the tragedy took place,” a part-time worker at a pub near the alleyway where the tragedy took place told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“But we are far from a full recovery.”

An empty street in Itaewon on Tuesday evening [CHO JUNG-WOO]

Another restaurant owner who has run a Korean restaurant in Itaewon for more than a decade said his establishment has not seen much change since the number of customers plunged following the tragedy.

“People say that the floating population in Itaewon has risen, but I cannot feel the immediate effect right now,” the owner said.

The floating population in Itaewon in May, specifically Itaewon 1-dong, had recovered to 75.6 percent of what it was in the final week of last October, according to mobile carrier KT’s data shared by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

According to the city government’s data portal, 26,643 people visited the area at 10 p.m. on Sept. 23, around 87 percent of the same period last year.

People walk the streets of Itaewon and dine in restaurants in the area on Wednesday. [CHO JUNG-WOO]

Foreign visitors have driven much of the rise, with foreign residents and travelers accounting for 21.4 percent of Sept. 23's total.

“Many foreign tourists come to the area lately, including from countries like Singapore and Malaysia,” a shop owner along the main street of Itaewon said.

The owner has been running a shop selling traditional Korean souvenirs for almost 30 years.

“For us, the situation is better than during the pandemic as 99 percent of our customers are foreign tourists.”

Traces of Halloween were nowhere to be found until a shop selling Halloween items appeared.

“Almost no one has been buying these items lately,” the shop owner said, adding that not even children are purchasing them for Halloween events.

When the reporter made another visit to the area on Wednesday night, pedestrians were walking along Itaewon-ro 27-ga-gil, also known as International Food Street, as workers from pubs were outside standing or sitting, ready to solicit passersby to their establishments.

But the party vibe for which the area was famous, with loud music and large crowds, was gone.

“Before the tragedy occurred, there were so many people coming to Itaewon that I had to queue to get into a pub,” a 27-year-old resident of Itaewon said.

“I think there are not enough Koreans visiting the place yet because of the crowd crush.”

According to the 27-year-old, who started living near Itaewon Station in June last year, many promotions and events have been held to revive the area.

The Yongsan District Office has injected around 18 billion won ($13.3 million) into 28 projects to revive the economy in Itaewon and its surroundings, including coupons and local brand support.

The district office said it issued 10 billion won in coupons on Jan. 10 and 30 billion won on March 8.

People purchased 2.6 billion won in coupons during the first round. Coupons issued in the second round were sold out.

The coupons were redeemable in six areas in the district, including Itaewon 1-dong, Itaewon 2-dong, Bogwang-dong and Hannam-dong.

“The coupons were aimed to help businesses not only in Itaewon 1-dong but also surrounding neighborhoods as the aftermath spread through the area,” a district office official said.

A person on Friday walks up the alleyway where the Halloween crowd crush occurred on the night of Oct. 29 last year. A sign on the ground reads, "We still have names to remember." [NEWS1]

Discounts may not be enough for Itaewon to overcome the protracted aftermath of the tragedy.

“Itaewon may need to take a different approach in the next few years to attract more foreign tourists over Koreans,” said Lee Eun-hee, a consumer science professor at Inha University, adding that it will take time for Koreans to overcome the neighborhood's association with the tragedy.

“The place has a global competitiveness to become an international tourist site due to its long history. Efforts will be needed to make the neighborhood a place where people, including foreigners, want to visit.”

Visible scars of the tragedy remain. The alleyway where the victims died has become an unofficial shrine, with people still putting up condolence messages on the wall.

The narrow 3.2-meter-wide (10.5-feet-wide) alley near Exit No.1 of Itaewon Station was named the October 29 Memorial Alley on Thursday to commemorate the disaster victims.

Along with three digital boards newly installed next to the temporary wall explaining the tragedy, a memorial plaque down the alleyway reads: "We still have names to remember."

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]