'Too painful to think about': Koreans and foreigners grieve victims of Itaewon tragedy together for first time
Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 12:38
Updated: 27 Oct. 2025, 19:01
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Family members of Madina Sherniyazova, a Kazakh student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, look at photos of the deceased at the ″House of Stars″ memorial for Itaewon crowd crush victims in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 26. [KIM CHANG-YONG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/27/5e29f24f-1ea6-4078-a5f9-344bce16dbaf.jpg)
Family members of Madina Sherniyazova, a Kazakh student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, look at photos of the deceased at the ″House of Stars″ memorial for Itaewon crowd crush victims in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 26. [KIM CHANG-YONG]
Three years after the Itaewon crowd crush in 2022, grief still lingers for victims’ families and first responders alike, as foreign and Korean bereaved relatives gathered in Seoul to remember their loved ones and demand accountability for a tragedy that left wounds that have yet to heal.
“My daughter had a special love for Korea,” said 57-year-old Kazakh national Gulbanu, the mother of the late Madina Sherniyazova, a Kazakh student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022. “She said it was her dream to get a job in Korea and live there for good, so she even enrolled in graduate school.”
Gulbanu described her daughter as an international student with a unique affection for Korea. Madina first came to Korea in 2015 as an exchange student at Kookmin University. In 2017, she enrolled in a graduate program at Chung-Ang University to pursue her dream of living in Korea.
“She was smart enough to read by the age of five and was the hope of our family,” her mother said. “We used to call her ‘Korean’ because she loved Korea so much.”
She asked that Madina, who had worked as a travel influencer promoting Korea, be remembered as “a beautiful person who loved Korea.”
In her last visit home to Kazakhstan in August 2022, Madina told her family, “There’s no country as safe as Korea. Nothing will happen.” She sent them a message just 10 minutes before the accident, saying she was having fun with her friends.
That was the last they heard from her. Madina’s father was diagnosed with depression following the tragedy and is still receiving treatment.
![Photos taken by Madina Sherniyazova, a Kazakh student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, and her phone that Sherniyazova had used, are seen in this photo provided by her family. [JOONGANG ILBO]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/27/392e64b2-d8bb-4597-b871-92154d486861.jpg)
Photos taken by Madina Sherniyazova, a Kazakh student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022, and her phone that Sherniyazova had used, are seen in this photo provided by her family. [JOONGANG ILBO]
On Sunday, the “House of Stars” memorial space in Jongno District, central Seoul, was filled with the sound of sobbing. For the first time since the Itaewon crowd crush three years ago, bereaved Korean families gathered with the bereaved families of foreign victims who officially visited Korea.
Some stood in a daze holding the belongings of the deceased, and others collapsed in grief or embraced each other in silent solidarity. Despite their differences, they all seemed to share the same sorrow. Portraits of the victims lined the memorial wall.
Forty-six bereaved family members from 14 countries — including Iran, Russia, the United States, Australia, China and Japan — shed tears as they looked at photos of loved ones who died abroad. The photos of seven foreign victims who had not been publicly identified until now were also hung by their family members.
Three years have passed since 159 people lost their lives in the Itaewon crowd crush, but bereaved families, Itaewon business owners, public officials and ordinary citizens remain trapped in the aftermath of the disaster.
Families of the victims are still campaigning for a thorough investigation while struggling with unresolved grief and trauma.
![Family members of victims of the Oct. 29, 2022 Itaewon crowd crush look at photos of the deceased at the ″House of Stars″ memorial for the victims in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 26. [KIM CHANG-YONG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/27/0a051782-7b84-44a0-ae9c-19161c71e081.jpg)
Family members of victims of the Oct. 29, 2022 Itaewon crowd crush look at photos of the deceased at the ″House of Stars″ memorial for the victims in Jongno District, central Seoul on Oct. 26. [KIM CHANG-YONG]
During this slow and painful recovery, the scars on Korean society have only deepened. A firefighter who responded to the disaster site later took their own life. A local business owner bowed their head, unable to recall the events of that night.
“I’ve been campaigning with other bereaved families for a proper investigation, but there hasn’t been much I could do for my own recovery,” said Ham Il-song, the 45-year-old older brother of victim Ham Yeong-mae. “I even tried counseling, but it wasn’t very effective.”
“If someone made mistakes that night, they should be punished, and everything that remains should be properly addressed,” he said.
Business owners near the scene said it's difficult to relive that day.
“Everyone in this area still carries the memories of that night deep in their hearts,” said a real estate agent operating in Itaewon. “Even talking about the tragedy is hard.”
![Visitors look around the Oct. 29 Memorial Alley in Itaewon, Yongsan District, central Seoul on Oct. 24. [IM SOUNG-BIN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/27/0f398a9c-5c4f-4b0f-af9d-30499e283cb9.jpg)
Visitors look around the Oct. 29 Memorial Alley in Itaewon, Yongsan District, central Seoul on Oct. 24. [IM SOUNG-BIN]
“After the disaster, we struggled emotionally and financially,” said a shop owner near the Oct. 29 Memorial Alley in Itaewon.
A convenience store owner who had their shop open that night repeatedly shook their head, saying, “It’s too painful to think about.”
Police officers and firefighters dispatched to the scene are also carrying emotional burdens. Two firefighters who responded to the crowd crush took their own lives this year. Both reportedly suffered from depression and anxiety disorders in the aftermath.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] doesn’t go away in one go. It resurfaces when something else triggers it,” said Kim Jong-soo, the head of the Seoul Fire Department branch of the Korean Government Employees’ Union. “Many firefighters and paramedics live with chronic PTSD.”
Ordinary citizens who witnessed the tragedy through media coverage are also still suffering.
![A police officer stands by in the Itaewon neighborhood in central Seoul on Oct. 31, 2024. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/27/7c559492-22a0-484e-a6bc-83ecc6ab271f.jpg)
A police officer stands by in the Itaewon neighborhood in central Seoul on Oct. 31, 2024. [NEWS1]
A study published in the Journal of The Korean Official Statistics by Lee Young-ju of Yonsei University’s Education Research Institute and Kim Si-hyeong of Sungkyunkwan University’s Traumatic Stress Center found that out of 600 respondents surveyed in March and April last year, 53.7 percent — or 322 people — said they felt “very” or “quite sad and distressed” after encountering coverage of the tragedy.
Although the survey was conducted about a year and a half after the incident, the findings suggest that many people still have not emotionally processed what happened.
Experts say that psychological trauma from disasters can take a long time to heal and that infrastructure must be established for continuous support.
“Even with 10 to 20 years of treatment, full recovery from PTSD can be difficult,” said Lim Myung-ho, a professor of psychology at Dankook University. “We need professional counselors who can provide long-term, hands-on support, but government incentives have been lacking.”
“Continued public interest in recovery and sustained support from professionals ultimately depend on the efforts of society and the government,” added Lim.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY IM SOUNG-BIN,LEE AH-MI,KIM CHANG-YONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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