Sunday, October 30: Tragedy in Seoul
Celebrations quickly turned to disaster after a crowd surge killed over 100
A popular Seoul nightclub district was packed with young revelers Saturday night, as tens of thousands of people were out in the Itaewon neighborhood celebrating Halloween. The festivity gave way to calamity when a crowd surge swept through the masses, resulting in the death of more than 150 people. Witnesses say police presence was scarce, despite the throngs of people in the streets. This is the worst peacetime disaster in South Korea since the Sewol ferry sank off the country’s southwestern coast back in 2014. Now, as with the ferry catastrophe, the majority of the deceased are young people, mostly in their 20’s.
Although Halloween wasn’t traditionally celebrated in South Korea (or North Korea for that matter), the holiday has grown in popularity as Seoul has grown more cosmopolitan and with many South Koreans returning after spending years abroad. The celebrations have always centered around Itaewon, a neighborhood closely associated with the city’s foreigners and American culture because of the proximity to the U.S. military base.
As with any crowd surge, it’s impossible to say what exactly caused the crush, but witnesses say partygoers had been packed tightly in the district’s narrow streets for hours and it was difficult to move around. This simulation illustrates when a crowd is getting dangerously dense, showing what varying crowd densities look like. Maybe it’s just me, but ever since the pandemic started anything more than 2 people per square meter is not worth the crowd. Do your best to learn the early warning signs of when a situation is overcrowded, it just might save your life.
Russia Withdraws from Grain Deal: Russia announced it would withdraw from an agreement allowing grain to be exported peacefully from Ukrainian ports. The agreement was meant to be valid for 120 days — expiring on November 19. The UN said that, as of this week, it had allowed for the export of more than 9 million tons of grain and other foodstuffs. The deal was initially intended to alleviate a growing global food crisis, but it appears Russia is no longer interested in avoiding such a calamity
Car Explosions in Mogadishu: Two twin car explosions rocked the capital of Somalia earlier in the weekend, in the most devastating terrorist attack to hit the country in five years. The death toll of these attacks has risen to at least 100 people, as emergency workers continue to remove bodies from nearby restaurants and shops destroyed by the blasts. The Somali government has struggled to address rising energy and food costs along with a looming famine
Liverpool’s Shambolic Showing: At this point I’m not sure what to expect when I tune in to watch the Reds. After beating the defending champs just a few weeks ago, the Robin Hood mentality of stealing points from good teams and gifting them to bad ones persists, as Liverpool have now lost to the bottom two teams in the league. I feel vindicated in choosing to support this team, a group of players who can win championships or lose to middle schoolers on any given day. At least it keeps the distraction interesting
Brazil’s Presidential Runoff: The runoff presidential election is today between President Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Preliminary polls give Lula a slight edge, but there’s always the possibility of a violent reaction from Bolsonaro or his loyal followers