Recently, there was a tragic disaster that took place in Seoul. A total of 158 people lost their lives, and numerous more people were injured as the huge Halloween crowds surged into a narrow street in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, on October 28th. Most of the victims were in their 20s, primarily woman, and 26 of them were foreigners. No one expected that the simple wishes of some people who wanted to spend a lively Halloween would lead to a major disaster.

We can never estimate the grief of the ones who lost their families or loved ones in the Itaewon disaster. Citizens paid their respects at memorial altars installed throughout Seoul. South Korea is currently engulfed in indescribable sadness by the unprecedented accident, and the ones who have tuned into the news on social media through days and night burned with agony. Political leaders and people around the world, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, expressed their deep condolences in relation to the disaster.

Currently, many political clashes and social conflicts are emerging on the surface over the investigation of this incident. The truest way to honor the ones we have lost, would be for society to come together to prevent such a tragic situation from happening again. Strengthening measures to prevent these accidents and enforcing the related systems could be one of those changes. Right before the disaster, emergency 119 calls from citizens were missed several times, ambulances were unable to reach the hospital quickly due to traffic conditions at the time, and crowds were unable to quickly disperse because the doors of nearby buildings were closed. If any of these hadn't happened, the damage might not have been as unimaginably big.

However, social disasters do not occur for just one or two reasons. We have painfully seen how difficult it is to find and analyze the causes of an accident and hold those who are at fault accountable. We should never let these things happen again. After all, we all know that our goal is to reach the highest level of security so citizens can live in a safe place. Once again, we express our deepest condolences to the victims.