This article is by Im Soung-bin, Lee Ah-mi, Kim Chang-yong and read by an artificial voice.



Three years after the Itaewon crowd crush in 2022, grief still lingers for victims' families and first responders alike, as foreign and Korean bereaved relatives gathered in Seoul to remember their loved ones and demand accountability for a tragedy that left wounds that have yet to heal.

"My daughter had a special love for Korea," said 57-year-old Kazakh national Gulbanu, the mother of the late Madina Sherniyazova, a Kazakh student who died in the Itaewon crowd crush on Oct. 29, 2022. "She said it was her dream to get a job in Korea and live there for good, so she even enrolled in graduate school."

Gulbanu described her daughter as an international student with a unique affection for Korea. Madina first came to Korea in 2015 as an exchange student at Kookmin University. In 2017, she enrolled in a graduate program at Chung-Ang University to pursue her dream of living in Korea.

"She was smart enough to read by the age of five and was the hope of our family," her mother said. "We used to call her 'Korean' because she loved Korea so much."

She asked that Madina, who had worked as a travel influencer promoting Korea, be remembered as "a beautiful person who loved Korea."

In her last visit home to Kazakhstan in August 2022, Madina told her family, "There's no country as safe as Korea. Nothing will happen." She sent them a message just 10 minutes before the accident, saying she was having fun with her friends.

That was the last they heard from her. Madina's father was diagnosed with depression following the tragedy and is still receiving treatment.



On Sunday, the "House of Stars" memorial space in Jongno District, central Seoul, was filled with the sound of sobbing. For the first time since the Itaewon crowd crush three years ago, bereaved Korean families gathered with the bereaved families of foreign victims who officially visited Korea.

Some stood in a daze holding the belongings of the deceased, and others collapsed in grief or embraced each other in silent solidarity. Despite their differences, they all seemed to share the same sorrow. Portraits of the victims lined the memorial wall.

Forty-six bereaved family members from 14 countries - including Iran, Russia, the United States, Australia, China and Japan - shed tears as they looked at photos of loved ones who died abroad. The photos of seven foreign victims who had not been publicly identified until now were also hung by their family members.

Three years have passed since 159 people lost their lives in the Itaewon crowd crush, but bereaved families, Itaewon business owners, public officials and ordinary citizens remain trapped in the aftermath of the disaster.

Families of the victims are still campaigning for a thorough investigation while struggling with unresolved grief and trauma.



During this slow and painful recovery, the scars on Korean society have only deepened. A firefighter who responded to the disaster site later took their own life. A local business owner bowed their head, unable to recall the events of that night.

"I've been campaigning with other bereaved families for a proper investigation, but there hasn't been much I could do for my own recovery," said Ham Il-song, the 45-year-old older brother of victim Ham Yeong-mae. "I even tried counseling, but it wasn't very effective."

"If someone made mistakes that night, they should be punished, and everything that remains should be properly addressed," he said.

Business owners near the scene said it's difficult to relive that day.

"Everyone in this area still carries the memories of that night deep in their hearts," said a real estate agent operating in Itaewon. "Even talking about the tragedy is hard."



"After the disaster, we struggled emotionally and financially," said a shop owner near the Oct. 29 Memorial Alley in Itaewon.

A convenience store owner who had their shop open that night repeatedly shook their head, saying,...