Tag: Seoul

I did not know Seoul had that many neighborhoods for this Youtuber to visit:

Bart van Genugten wants to visit every neighborhood of Seoul. The city has 467 administrative divisions, known as “dong,” in Korean, and the Dutch national has already checked a decent number off his list, in his YouTube video series, “Welcome to My Dong.”

“Once I promise myself to do something, I tend to keep that promise,” he told The Korea Times about his prospects of reaching that goal. “It may take me four to six years without any distractions.”

He’s already visited 50 dongs creating 35 videos and 36 shorts on his YouTube channel, iGoBart, which has over 193,000 subscribers.

“All I have discovered, being 50 neighborhoods into the project, is that every dong has something interesting, no matter how small, they all have something worthy of a visit, and I want to show this to the world,” he said. “Seoul is more than only the famous landmarks and has so much more to offer if you’re curious. I wish more creators did so.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like Halloween will not be cancelled in Seoul due to last year’s Itaewon crushing tragedy. Instead they will just deploy more police for crowd control:

People pass by an alley that was the site of a deadly crowd crush in central Seoul’s Itaewon, Sunday. The tragic event claimed at least 158 lives, including 26 foreign nationals from 14 countries, during Halloween celebrations on Oct. 29, 2022. Yonhap

Police will deploy over 1,000 personnel for crowd control in Itaewon and 15 other areas in Seoul that expect to attract a large number of people celebrating the Halloween weekend, a year after the deadly Itaewon crowd crush that claimed at least 158 lives.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) announced during a regular press briefing, Monday, a set of enhanced crowd control and security measures for 16 areas of the capital that are anticipated to see huge crowds from Friday to next Tuesday.

“The agency selected high-risk alleys after holding several meetings and conducting field studies with local governments,” a police official said, explaining that the agency expects people to flock to Mapo and Gangnam districts instead of Itaewon and its neighboring area in Yongsan District this year.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is a regulation that I did not realize Seoul enforces on people camping along the Han River:

As growing numbers of people visit parks along the Han River for autumn picnics, Seoul city’s current regulation, which forces them to leave two sides of a tent open at riverside picnic areas is sparking debate over privacy concerns.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government allows tents at designated picnic areas in Han River parks during scheduled times under the condition that at least two sides of a tent remain open at all times.

The city government established the regulation in its April 2019 ordinance, in response to growing complaints regarding indescrete public displays of affection inside the tents and waste problems, according to the city government’s team which is in charge of park management. Seoul is the only local government nationwide that imposes such a restriction.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is the memorial that will be built in Itaewon by the one year anniversary of the crowd crush tragedy:

This image of memorials commemorating the Itaewon crowd crush and its victims is provided by groups representing bereaved families. (Yonhap)

A set of memorials will be installed in commemoration of last year’s deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon district on the occasion of the tragedy’s first anniversary next month, bereaved families said Friday.

The crowd crush killed 159 people, many of them women in their 20s, on a narrow, sloped back alley in the nightlife district of Itaewon on Oct. 29 as a massive crowd packed the path amid Halloween festivities. 

With the accident’s first anniversary just a month away, groups representing families of the victims said memorials, called “The Path of Memory and Safety,” will be installed along the accident site and unveiled to the public on Oct. 26. 

The installation, designed by public art creator Kwon Eun-bi, will comprise a signboard bearing the name of the memorials and three light emitting diode-equipped bulletin boards displaying a description of the crowd crush as well as mourning messages from people and photos.

In commemoration of foreign victims of the tragedy, a mourning message, “All may go well today with all of you who remember that night,” will be inscribed in 14 different languages on the boards. 

The memorials will also include two stone sign plates, each to be laid on the ground at the start and the end of the accident alley, to remind visitors of the crowd crush and its victims.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is very weird especially since the police are focusing on suicide as the cause for at least four of the deaths:

A family of five has been found dead in three different locations in and around Seoul, and police are investigating connections into their deaths, police said Saturday. 

Police received a report at 7:29 a.m. of a 40-year-old woman having jumped off an apartment building in Songpa in eastern Seoul, officials said. 

She was sent to a hospital in cardiac arrest but later pronounced dead.

While police were checking the woman’s whereabouts in the lead-up to her death, they discovered her husband, mother- and sister-in-law dead in a residence in the same district. 

Police then found the couple’s teenage daughter dead at a hotel in Gimpo, just west of Seoul. 

Police said a note was found at one of the scenes that indicated a conflict over money. 

Police said they believe four of them, excluding the daughter, took their own lives, and an autopsy will be carried out on her to figure out the exact cause of death.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is the one area where the ROK military is lacking compared to North Korea’s military, conducting parades:

This Oct. 1, 2013 file photo shows a military parade taking place in central Seoul to mark Armed Forces Day. Yonhap

South Korea will stage a large-scale military parade in central Seoul later this month for the first time in a decade, featuring tanks, fighter jets and other advanced assets, to mark the 75th anniversary of Armed Forces Day, defense officials said Wednesday.

Some 4,000 troops and over 170 pieces of military equipment, including K2 battle tanks, the country’s new “high-power” missile, and attack drones, will parade from Sungnyemun Gate to Gwanghwamun Square on Sept. 26 to commemorate the landmark anniversary, according to the officials.

This year’s event will proceed under the theme of “strong military, strong security, and peace through strength” to demonstrate the military’s resolve to defend the country, with a focus on sending a message to North Korea against provocations, one of the officials said. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Well this guy has self selected himself out of the military:

Police in Seoul arrested an American soldier on suspicion of driving drunk in a stolen minivan in the city early Sunday.

The minivan’s owner reported his Hyundai Staria had disappeared around 4:10 a.m. from its streetside parking spot in the Jongno district, a detective from the district’s police station told Stars and Stripes by phone Monday.

South Korean officials regularly speak to the media on the customary condition of anonymity.

Seoul police pulled the vehicle over less than a half-mile from its parking spot, the detective said. The driver, a U.S. soldier in his 30s under the influence of alcohol, told police he found the keys to the minivan and “accidentally” took the car, the detective said.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It is a bit surprising that business has not fully returned back to normal yet in Itaewon when it has almost been a year since the crowd crushing tragedy. According to the article there is still a fear that Itaewon is not safe to visit after the tragedy:

A banner with the phrase “Safety Itaewon” hangs on the building of the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone Association in Itaewon, Seoul, to promote volunteer patrols, Aug. 29. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-hyun

Approximately 10 months after the tragic Halloween crowd crush that claimed 159 lives, there are, once again, visible green shoots growing in Itaewon, one of the main nightlife districts in Seoul, which had been struggling to attract visitors. 

However, the extent of the recovery, boosted by various projects to revive the district, is a contrasting story, depending on the type of business.

On a recent Friday night, the streets of Itaewon came alive with bar staff promoting their establishments in an alley behind the Hamilton Hotel, which is near the location of the deadly accident. The streets were filled with loud music and visitors, while foreign tourists could be seen walking around and capturing the lively scene on their phones.

According to a report in July, by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, sales of Itaewon shops recovered to approximately 85 percent of pre-crowd-crush levels, signaling a positive shift.

In addition, the average number of visitors to Itaewon per week in May, the latest available figure, stood at 75.6 percent compared to that of the fourth week of October last year, which was one week before the tragedy, based on telecom operator KT’s statistics.

As part of efforts to entice people back to Itaewon and revive businesses in the area, the Yongsan-gu Office introduced vouchers in March. The vouchers, used as cash, provided customers with a 20 percent discount at local businesses in the district.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.