Itaewon: An inclusive, multicultural hub hit with tragedy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Itaewon, the neighborhood where at least 151 people were killed in a Halloween crowd surge, is Seoul’s most cosmopolitan district, a place where kebab stands and BBQ joints are as big a draw as the pulsing night clubs and trendy bars.

Wedged between two of the city’s biggest parks and the War Memorial of Korea museum, Itaewon has long been popular among foreign residents and tourists thanks in large part to a major U.S. military base that was once nearby. The area's nightlife is mostly centered on one main road.

In recent years, the days around Halloween have seen Itaewon’s lively streets filled with partygoers — expat and Korean alike — dressed up in holiday costumes. Those festivities continued even during the pandemic, which temporarily dampened Itaewon’s nightlife after several cases were traced to the area’s nightclubs and other venues.

Officials believe that tens of thousands of revelers flocked to Itaewon on Saturday, in one of the biggest gatherings since the country removed most of its COVID-19 restrictions in recent months. Witnesses say the streets were so densely clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was practically impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to arrive in time, leaving them helpless to prevent the situation from developing into the country’s worst disaster in years.

On Saturday night, emergency workers were seen rushing to carry the injured and dead out in stretchers as ambulances lined up in the streets and a chaotic crowd fled the area. Paramedics and pedestrians frantically performed CPR on people in the streets near rows of lifeless bodies kept under blue blankets.

Park Ji-won, who runs a Middle Eastern restaurant across the street from Hamilton Hotel, said he saw emergency workers bring...