![[Photo] Families of foreign victims visit site of Itaewon crowd crush for first time](https://flexible.img.hani.co.kr/flexible/normal/970/582/imgdb/original/2025/1028/1517616405715373.webp "[Photo] Families of foreign victims visit site of Itaewon crowd crush for first time")
On Oct. 25, 2025, a few days ahead of the third anniversary of the 2022 Seoul crowd crush that left over 150 people dead, the families of foreign victims pay a visit to the alley where their loved ones perished. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
Family members of foreigners who were killed in the Itaewon crowd crush three years ago visited the alley where the tragedy occurred near Exit 1 of the Itaewon subway station, in Seoul’s Yongsan District, on Saturday.
Wearing purple jackets and holding chrysanthemums, a traditional symbol of mourning in Korea, the family members gathered at the base of the alley at 1 pm before slowly walking up its slope.
Family members of foreigners killed in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush embrace bereaved families of Korean victims as they pay a visit to the alley where their loved ones perished on Oct. 25, 2025. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
On Oct. 25, 2025, a few days ahead of the third anniversary of the 2022 Seoul crowd crush that left over 150 people dead, the families of foreign victims pay a visit to the alley where their loved ones perished. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
They were met at the alley entrance by Korean families of victims — not with words, but with embraces of shared sorrow. Upon entering the alley, some collapsed on the ground in grief and burst into tears.
Forty-six family members of 21 foreign victims from 14 countries were invited by the South Korean government to collectively mourn the victims. After a prayer service involving the four major religions, they marched with the families of Korean victims to Seoul Plaza, where they attended a citizens’ memorial in the evening.
On Sunday, the families paid a visit to the October 29 Itaewon Disaster Memorial Hall, where they hung photos of their lost loved ones, before submitting applications for investigation and recognition of harm, and holding a press conference with local and foreign outlets. The families will remain in Korea for the government’s official memorial event on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the tragedy.
Family members of foreigners killed in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush embrace bereaved families of Korean victims as they pay a visit to the alley where their loved ones perished on Oct. 25, 2025. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
Families of victims and other mourners bow their heads during a prayer ceremony held near the Itaewon subway station in Seoul on Oct. 25, 2025, only days out from the third anniversary of the tragic crowd crush of 2022. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
A woman who lost a loved one in the 2022 Seoul crowd crush shows a picture of the deceased on her phone during a visit to the site of the tragedy in Itaewon on Oct. 25, 2025. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
“We hope that the visit to Korea by families of foreign victims will serve as an occasion for them to be heard and that their rights as victims — the right to know, the right to mourn, and more — will be guaranteed and carried out, both administratively and institutionally,” the 10.29 Itaewon Disaster Bereaved Families said.
On Oct. 25, 2025, a few days ahead of the third anniversary of the 2022 Seoul crowd crush that left over 150 people dead, the families of foreign victims pay a visit to the alley where their loved ones perished. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
Following a visit to the Itaewon alley where their loved ones perished in the 2022 crowd crush, families march to Seoul Plaza on Oct. 25, 2025. (Kim Tae-hyeong/Hankyoreh)
By Kim Tae-hyeong, staff reporter
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