Critics say basic safety practices, social safety nets and minority voices have been largely overlooked.
When Kim Kap Soo watched live broadcasts of the harrowing Halloween party crush that killed more than 150 people in Seoul last weekend, there was shock and sadness — but also the embarrassed realization that this wasn't the first time he'd seen South Korea suffer a devastating disaster as a result of official incompetence and safety failures.
Similar crowd crushes have happened in other developed countries in recent years, but the death counts there were much smaller than in Itaewon, where 156 people died and 187 were injured. From K-pop superstars BTS and Netflix’s megahit drama “Squid Game” to Samsung-made smartphones and Hyundai cars, South Korea’s recent cultural and economic achievements have been remarkable. But there's a dark side to its breakneck rise from the extreme poverty of the 1950 and 60s:
Park Sangin, a professor at Seoul National University, said the Itaewon crush showed that South Koreans haven’t done much to improve systems and policies to prevent similar man-made disasters like the ferry sinking. He said South Koreans have focused instead on finding, criticizing and punishing anyone responsible each time an incident occurs.
“When I first saw such things on TV, I thought they were happening in a foreign country, not here,” said Kim Suk Hee, 40, a real estate agent. “I was so stunned to learn that it was Itaewon, because I had actually planned to go there with my family for Halloween the next day. I still have trauma over what happened.”
A public survey taken after the disaster shows President Yoon’s approval rating is about 30%, a very low rate given he took office only six months ago.
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S. Koreans ashamed over safety failures in Halloween tragedySEOUL, South Korea (AP) — When Kim Kap Soo watched live broadcasts of the harrowing Halloween party crush that killed more than 150 people in Seoul last weekend, there was shock and sadness — but also the embarrassed realization that this wasn't the first time he'd seen South Korea suffer a devastating disaster as a result of official incompetence and safety failures.
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