By Daewoung Kim and Hanna Song
SEOUL (Reuters) – As South Korea mourns the deaths of greater than 150 people in a Halloween party crush, many individuals – even those indirectly involved – are coping with trauma and a seek for answers that has at times blamed the victims, a psychiatry expert says.
Thanks partially to a flood of disturbing images in the primary hours of the disaster, the emotional and mental health effects of the disaster could touch all corners of society, said Ulsan University Hospital professor of psychiatry Jun Jin-yong.
“It spread in a short time through news media and social media, leaving people directly and not directly affected, and even those that aren’t affected may feel distressed and frustrated, just about casting a way of dread over the complete society,” he said.
The initial shock from the crush in the favored Itaewon district on Saturday night has turned to public outrage over the federal government’s planning missteps and inadequate police response.
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Tens of hundreds of revellers, lots of them young, had crowded into narrow streets and alleyways of Itaewon for the primary virtually unrestricted Halloween festivities in three years. An uncontrolled surge of individuals into one narrow alleyway become a deadly crush.
Disturbing footage showing emergency rescue officials and residents providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to unconscious victims quickly went viral on social media even before the character and the size of the disaster became known.
The graphic images were replayed on mainstream news media. Then speculation about what caused the disaster began to swirl.
“What makes it harder for most individuals is that it was no person’s fault that they happened to be there, and while you keep asking why were they there in the primary place … that is a recipe for social conflict,” Jun said.
The death toll stands at 156, with 172 injured, 33 of whom were in serious condition.
The federal government sent a mobile clinic run by the National Center for Disaster Trauma to Itaewon, offering free counselling.
Jun said there was a natural human tendency to search for a proof for a disaster, placing blame on people or a set of circumstances, Jun said.
“Whenever you see reactions to disasters, there are inevitable reactions trying to seek out some scapegoats and blaming them,” Jun said. “For instance, after we had COVID-19 cases the primary time in South Korea, there have been a variety of blaming reactions like ‘why did you go there? Why did you spread it to others.'”
Kim Bum-jin, 18, said recurring memories of the disaster have made him unable to sleep or eat. “The memories keep coming back, so now I’m having a panic attack after I hear any siren sounds.”
“Everyone was there to enjoy a festival. Nobody knew that accident would occur,” Kim said. “I do not understand how people can blame (the victims and survivors.)”
Hwang Jung-soon, 75, was mourning at a memorial altar arrange in front of Seoul’s city hall. She said the scope of the disaster was hard to understand.
“I have been watching the news again and again and feeling so sad. I feel depressed, cannot eat and have a headache,” she said. “This news just doesn’t make any sense.”
(Reporting by Daewoung Kim and Hanna Song; Additional reporting by Minwoo Park; Writing by Jack Kim. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters.
