Many foreign victims of Itaewon crush were students

Social Affairs

Published: 31 Oct. 2022, 17:58 Updated: 31 Oct. 2022, 20:00

Many foreign victims of Itaewon crush were students

Some foreigners pay tribute to the victims of the Itaewon tragedy outside exit No. 1 of Itaewon Station on Monday. [KIM SEONG-RYONG]

Many of the foreigners killed in Itaewon on Saturday were exchange students staying in Korea for a few months.

Tomikawa Mei, a 26-year-old Japanese student studying the Korean language in Seoul, texted her dad just a few hours before the tragedy.

Sending him a photo of a lunch of bibimbap she was having in Insa-dong that day, Tomikawa told her father she was “meeting up with a French friend later,” according to the Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting. Tomikawa is from Nemuro, Hokkaido.

Unable to reach her for hours after that, Tomikawa’s dad reportedly kept calling until the phone was finally picked up on Sunday morning – by a police officer in Seoul. The Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed her death in the crush a few hours later.

Screen capture of text messages exchanged between Tomikawa Mei and her father before the tragedy in Itaewon on Saturday. The screen capture was released by the Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

"I had believed until the last minute that she was okay," Ayumu Tomikawa, Mei’s father, told the the press before departing for Korea on Monday, according to Kyodo News.

Steven Blesi, a 20-year-old American, was also an exchange student. He was two months into his studies in Korea.

“It was like your world just collapsing,” Blesi’s father told the New York Times on Sunday, describing hearing the news about his son from the U.S. Embassy in Korea. “It was numb and devastating all at the same time.”

The Washington Post reported that Blesi was from Marietta, Georgia and a junior at Kennesaw State University, which is located in Georgia.

Blesi’s father said his son had messaged him saying he had finished midterms and was going out with friends over the weekend.

“Living with this the rest of our lives is going to be very difficult,” the father told the Post.

The second American confirmed killed in the crowd crush was Anne Gieske, a 20-year-old student from University of Kentucky.

Anne Gieske's photo showing her celebrating her birthday on Friday, the day before she attended the Halloween celebrations in Itaewon, Seoul. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Both were attending Hanyang University. Gieske's hometown was Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

Gieske celebrated her 20th birthday the day before. A photo of her smiling widely before a birthday cake on Friday was the last post on her Instagram account.

“The University of Kentucky community is grieving the tragic loss of one of our students, Anne Gieske, who was studying abroad in Seoul, South Korea, and was killed in this week’s tragedy,” the university posted on Twitter Monday.

A total of 26 foreign citizens died in the Halloween tragedy Saturday. The Korean government has identified them to be five Iranians, four Chinese, four Russians, two Americans and two Japanese and one citizen each from France, Australia, Austria, Norway, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka.

The family of Grace Rached, an Australian woman in her 20s, released a statement on Monday.

“We are missing our gorgeous angel Grace who lit up a room with her infectious smile,” reads the statement, released by the Australian Embassy in Seoul. “Grace always made others feel important and her kindness left an impression on everyone she ever met.”

Grace Rached, a 23-year-old Australian, was one of 26 foreigners killed in Itaewon during the Halloween celebrations Saturday. This photo was provided by her family to the Australian Embassy in Seoul. [FAMILY OF GRACE RACHED]

Grace was a film producer, according to her family. Her hometown was Sydney.

“We will all deeply miss our beautiful Grace, our life of the party,” reads their statement.

Some friends of the victims have begun posting on social media what they saw on site in Itaewon on Saturday night.

“There was no stampede,” said Nate Taeveniti, a friend of Rached, in a TikTok video he posted on Sunday. “It was a slow and agonizing crush. This crush was not caused by drunk people. It is a lack of planning [by] police force and emergency services.”

Police are investigating to determine the causes of the tragedy, including whether there was neglect of duty by authorities or the government.

Foreign Minister Park Jin said that at least one ministry official has been assigned to each of the foreign victims and their families to make arrangements for people coming to Korea and for funerals.

In a National Assembly committee meeting on Monday, Park also said that the ministry is reviewing all possible measures to ensure that the foreign citizens killed in the crush can receive the same support the Korean government is giving Korean victims.

The government is supporting each Korean victim’s funeral with payments of up to 15 million won ($10,510).

There were 15 foreigners injured. As of Monday afternoon, all except one person were discharged after receiving treatment at a local hospital, according to the ministry.

Condolences over the tragedy have poured in from embassies in Seoul and world leaders.