[Report] Spring Has Come but Itaewon Still... "If I Don't Turn On the Lights, It's Pitch Dark"

Itaewon Visited on the 24th... Quiet Even on Friday
Merchants: "It Will Take a Lot of Time to Recover"
Seoul City Gift Certificate Policy... "External Customers Rarely Use It"

"If we turn off the lights, it becomes too dark, so we can't do that." Nam In-seok (82), who runs a clothing fashion store in the alley next to the Hamilton Hotel where the Itaewon tragedy occurred, turns on the store lights from 10 a.m. Although he did not receive a single customer that day either, Nam smiled awkwardly, saying, "If I don't even turn on the lights in this store, the whole alley looks too dark." He, who was at the scene during the incident, said that his heart suddenly aches whenever he sees young people. Nam said, "It seems difficult for the Itaewon commercial district to recover until an agreement is reached between the government and the bereaved families," and expressed his hope that "it would be arranged as a space to commemorate the painful memories so that the death would not be in vain."

Around 7 p.m. on the 24th, in front of Itaewon Station on the main street. Although it was Friday, known as "Bulgeum" (Friday night), the streets of Itaewon were quiet.
Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@

At around 12:48 p.m. on the 24th, the area around Itaewon Station was visited. As the weather warmed and COVID-19 restrictions eased, commercial districts like Myeongdong and Hongdae were stretching their legs again, but Itaewon still had a quiet atmosphere. Although it was peak lunchtime, only a few people were seen mainly on Itaewon World Food Street and Quynon-gil. The music playing in the empty stores flowed out onto the street clearly without any noise. Four foreigners, appearing to be a family, wandered around the street but, seeing the closed shops, headed back toward Itaewon Station.

At around 7 p.m., Itaewon World Food Street had a better atmosphere due to bar operations compared to lunchtime, but considering that it was Friday night, known as 'Bulgeum' (literally "Fire Friday"), the street still felt sparse. The stores on Gyeongridan-gil, the path from Itaewon Station to Noksapyeong Station, were mostly empty except for a few popular restaurants. According to Seoul city data, the card sales in the fourth week of last month in Itaewon 1-dong, where the Halloween Day tragedy occurred on October 29, decreased by 58.1% compared to the fourth week of October last year, just before the accident, and the floating population decreased by 29%.

Merchants expected that it would still take a long time for the Itaewon commercial district to recover. Jung Seong-eun (45), who runs a clothing store, said, "The Itaewon commercial district operates by making sales in November and December to survive January and February, then working from March to May to get through the summer," adding, "This should be a busy season, but business is not going well." A person running a fortune-telling and tarot card shop, Mr. A, said, "Since the tragedy, almost no one visits unless they are regular customers. Usually, I opened at 12 p.m., but these days, if there are no reservations, I come out at 1:40 p.m." He added, "There was even a time when I received my first customer at 6 p.m."

Next to the Hamilton Hotel, where the Itaewon tragedy occurred, there is a space dedicated to commemorating the victims.
Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@

Although the city is implementing policies such as issuing gift certificates to help the Itaewon commercial district recover, merchants responded that it is insufficient to attract outside customers. The city issued gift certificates worth 10 billion KRW in January and February, and in March expanded the amount to 30 billion KRW and increased the discount rate from 10% to 20%. The Itaewon Commercial District Recovery Gift Certificates can currently be purchased through apps such as 'SeoulPay+', 'ShinhanSOL', 'TmoneyPay', 'MoneyTree', and 'ShinhanPay', and can be used at Seoul Love Gift Certificate affiliated stores in six neighborhoods of Yongsan-gu (Itaewon 1-2 dong, Hannam-dong, Bogwang-dong, Seobinggo-dong, Yongsan 2-ga dong). A purchase limit of 700,000 KRW per person applies.

Park (62, female), who runs a pasta restaurant, said, "There are people who pay using the Itaewon Commercial District Recovery Gift Certificates, but mainly local residents," adding, "There are few customers who came from outside to use the gift certificates." Jung explained, "Although my store is an affiliated store for the gift certificates, it is a clothing store, not a restaurant, so cases of using them are rare," and said, "Since January, only one customer has paid with the gift certificate." In fact, citizens met that day responded that they did not even know about the gift certificates. Kang (29), who visited Itaewon for the first time in a while, said, "I had no idea," and asked, "Where can I get them?" According to the SeoulPay+ app, as of that day, 30% of the remaining balance of the Itaewon Commercial District Recovery Gift Certificates with a 20% discount rate was left.

The merchants met that day did not forget to express their condolences for the tragedy while talking about the difficult situation. Some merchants also urged that instead of fragmented support policies, Itaewon itself should be made into a space of remembrance. Nam said, "I don't feel comfortable running a business in a memorial space," and added, "There is a need to create a new space to remember the tragedy so that the death will not be in vain."