SEOUL, – Vivid survivor accounts of what happened during last year’s deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s entertainment district of Itaewon have been published in a book ahead of the first anniversary of the tragedy.

The memoir, titled “We are in Itaewon now,” compiled the stories of survivors, bereaved families and residents of Itaewon on the day of the tragedy and how they grappled with the traumatic memories after 159 lives were lost during Halloween celebrations.

“We, the bereaved families, always say we should remember the tragedy to never let something like this happen again,” said Kim Hye-in, who lost her younger brother in the Itaewon crowd crush. “I thought recording it in words would be the best way to do that.”

A group of 13 people, including activists and ordinary citizens, jointly wrote the book.

“This book illustrates ordinary lives before the tragedy took place, accounts on the day of the tragedy and the voices of those who find it hard to move on,” said Lee Jeong-min, who lost his daughter in the crowd crush.

The book, which is separated into three parts, tells the narratives of eight siblings who lost their family members, two accounts from people who lost their partners and voices from people who had been living or working in Itaewon.

“Most of the victims were young people in their 20s and 30s,” said Yoo Hae-jeong, an activist who had been recording the stories of victims of mass tragedies since the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, which killed 304 people, mostly high school students.

“We wanted to deliver the stories of young people, who were often the target of social prejudice or stigma,” Yoo said. “We wanted to hear why society made them silent.”

Lee Hyun-gyung, a 29-year-old who contributed to the publication of the book, said he decided to join the recording process because he felt a “sense of burden to fellow young people.”

“I experienced the Sewol ferry disaster when I was 20, then eight years later, the tragedy in Itaewon,” he said. “I keep asking why these tragedies continue to happen.”

The bereaved families and activists also pleaded for the government and the public not to blame the tragedy on the victims.

“The focus should not be on why they went to Itaewon to hang out, or to outright ban Halloween festivals, but why there were no personnel deployed in the area (at the time of the tragedy),” said Kim Hye-in, who shared the story of her deceased brother in the book.

Meanwhile, the bereaved families plan to hold a public mourning event in front of Seoul Plaza on Sunday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy.

Source: Yonhap News Agency