Korea enters public mourning period for Itaewon victims
Article: Picture of mother and daughter together... wakes filled with sounds of tears
Source: Segye Ilbo via Naver
1. [+1,973, -16] A mother and daughter... this is so sad
2. [+1,569, -69] I'm reminded of those comments... berating teens for going to Itaewon in the first place. Look here, a student went with her mother.. Please do not hate on the dead without knowing anything.
3. [+846, -11] Mother and daughter... I'm sure that mother accompanied her because she felt too nervous to send her alone... May they rest in peace.
4. [+380, -52] If we were all able to spare one minute of our own lives to get back the lives that we lost here, I wish we could all come together to do it. That's how sad this incident makes me. I know that every life is so precious but the loss of these lives are especially so unfortunate and sad.
5. [+151, -1] For a third year middle schooler to have went with her mother means they were especially close.. I can't imagine how their family must feel losing two overnight. My heart breaks... may they rest in peace.
6. [+152, -8] I wish people would stop hating on them as "pathetic youths who were only there to drink and party". Here's a mother who accompanied her daughter, many students who were there out of curiosity after finishing their exams, normal people who just wanted to spend their weekend with their friends... That's all they were. I'm no better human myself but my heart still breaks in the face of such a large amount of deaths.
7. [+131, -5] Why does everyone assume that people were in Itaewon for their own selfish entertainment? There were so many who were just there to catch up with friends... run errands... because they live in the area... to get to their part-time jobs... They all had their own stories. So many shared accounts of how they were swept into the alleyway, even if they had never intended to go down that path.
8. [+63, -1] The saddest of all the Itaewon news I've read so far... To think of the daughter feeling so excited to go, with her hand in her mother's... ㅠㅠ sigh... ㅠㅠ
9. [+61, -0] To think of how desperate the mother must've felt to save her own daughter even as she was dying herself ㅜㅜ
10. [+49, -0] Obviously the mother went with her because she knew it'd be too dangerous to just send her with her friends... how could this happen. How much pain were they in, especially the mother ㅜㅜ
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Article: Australian man in twenties sobs "People were singing and dancing as my friend was dying"
Source: Everyday Economy via Naver
1. [+1,855, -22] Korea will become the worst country in the world for this person now.. ㅠㅠ
2. [+601, -7] How did our country turn into this
3. [+545, -15] Is his face not being blurred because he's a foreigner?
4. [+495, -9] So sad.. what could we ever do for his wounded heart...
5. [+138, -0] Just listening to his story sounds like hell on earth ㅜ to have people singing and dancing as someone is dying right beside you.. So embarrassed of all the brainless fools~~
6. [+61, -2] Too much trash among the teens and twenties in our country, that's why. As a Korean citizen, I apologize.
7. [+57, -1] How traumatic this must've been... how is this young man supposed to live in. My heart breaks for him...
8. [+49, -1] I'm sorry. I'm embarrassed. I'm speechless.
9. [+42, -10] Both our citizens and our government are an embarrassment
10. [+29, -0] All of the people who were dancing, singing, taking pictures as people were dying... just so embarrassed to call them our people. I don't want to consider them human. The most despicable thing about this whole incident is them ㅠㅠ
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Article: Itaewon catastrophe, why is the government not saying 'sorry'?
Source: Oh My News via Naver
1. [+2,621, -50] Every foreign media outlet is pointing out that this is an accident caused by a failure to control the scene. It's obvious, isn't it? Anyone should've been able to tell that such a large group of people squeezed into such tiny alleyways would've caused an accident, so the government should've been pouring officials in to regulate the area. What is the point of having a Ministry of Public Administration and Security if not for situations like this?
2. [+2,377, -65] If we were ever to fall into war, the government will give the excuse that it was not a 'company sponsored' event so they have no responsibility for it. You pathetic people, the job of our government is to ensure safety and protect the lives of its people. That is its most basic responsibility, and they have failed to uphold it! They need to come down!
3. [+1,847, -43] The first priority of a country is the safety of its citizens, which this government seems to forget as needed!
4. [+1,738, -27] The government should not be holding discussion floors right now but a public apology to the entire nation
5. [+1,132, -19] The article is right. It's not like Halloween's only been a thing in Itaewon for a year or two. It's been a festival with appropriate police presence even up till last year, so why did an accident like this only occur this year? Only 130 police were assigned to an event that you knew 100,000 people were going to show up for while the president gets 700 police on his way to work? How does that make sense? A country is responsible for the safety of its people, and if you fail to do so, you must apologize for it.
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Source: Nate
1. [+1,322, -368] Ah~ our country has really picked the wrong president
2. [+1,321, -318] We have no president, no public security ministry, no police... No one will protect you so please grit your teeth and survive as you have to, everyone.
3. [+1,223, -297] Everyone knew that a large crowd would come but no measures or controls were put in place. This is the fault of the government, the police... why should the people be blamed for it? Because it wasn't "company sponsored"? If an area has no company sponsor, then doesn't that mean that the police should've been paying more close attention to it?
4. [+63, -19] 700 for the president to go to work, 137 in Itaewon
5. [+55, -13] It's not like Halloween last year was company sponsored by anyone but we had more than enough police force on site. It is not an appropriate excuse for what happened;;;
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Article: Government is supporting deaths at Itaewon tragedy with up to 15 million won in funeral expenses
Source: Insight via Instagram
1. [+1,023] But why? They were there to enjoy themselves, why is the government paying for that?
2. [+1,341] Wow... I feel so, so bad for the woman who died in the pastry factory, for the people who died in the typhoon. They're worth less in the eyes of the government than some people who were out to drink and party. I guess we should all be drinking and partying to earn the sympathy of our people and for the government to provide proper support.
3. [+437] Do not do this with our tax money
4. [+324] What is the reason for the government paying for their funerals?
5. [+781] But... why...? It's an unfortunate accident but... why are we subsidizing this? It should've been left at mourning and hurting for them. If anyone should be given money over this, it should be the medical personnel and firefighters who worked hard to help everyone, no...?
6. [+1,098] The money should go to the medical personnel on site
7. [+1,098] Was the woman who died at the pastry factory given any support? What about the people who drowned in the basement parking lot during the typhoon? So only group deaths count for subsidies but not one or two deaths at a time? What kind of standard does this set? I'm not trying to hate, I'm trying to understand what the standards are here.
8. [+128] This is truly an unfortunate and sad accident but I don't understand why tax dollars are being spent on people who were there to party. Why not direct that money to our veterans?
9. [+81] I guess if I'm going to die, I better make sure I was partying.. so I can get some money out of it.. Not like you're ever going to get money if you die diseased or injured, might as well go out partying. What a great world we've become... to get paid upon death for partying.
10. [+61] An accident is an accident... why is our tax money being spent on this????
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