Crowds, Narrow Routes, and Lack of Accountability... "No Way Out" for Safety [K-Star Departure Wars ⑤]

K-culture Thrives, But Safety Stagnates
Fans Crowd Airports, Yet Systems Are Lacking
Korea Responds Repeatedly Without Policy Design

Editor's NoteK-culture has now grown beyond a simple trend to become an industry in its own right. A star's departure from the country is no longer a personal schedule, but rather a 'public encounter' with the masses and part of cultural content. However, the disorderly scenes of farewells at airports are a dark shadow hidden behind the bright side of the industry. This feature begins with the question, "How can the expansion of culture coexist with public safety?" Amid complex factors such as the autonomy of fandom culture, the public's right to movement, and the operational efficiency of airports, how far should policy intervene, and in what ways? Through real-life case studies, responses from relevant organizations, and comparisons of domestic and international policies, we seek to explore both the direction of airport safety management and the sustainability of fan culture in the era of K-culture.

A virtual image created with ChatGPT.

On October 2022, the Halloween disaster in Itaewon, Seoul claimed 159 lives. More than just a tragedy, it served as a warning that safety accidents due to crowd density can occur without notice. Three years later, in 2025, airports have emerged as a new blind spot for safety. On the day a popular star departs, hundreds of fans gather like clouds in the narrow departure hall corridors and in front of gates. As fans compete for photos, security guards and regular passengers become entangled, and the airport descends into chaos in an instant.

Crowd safety experts point out that airports, with their many enclosed spaces, are particularly vulnerable to crush accidents. Professor G. Keith Still of Suffolk University in the United States explains in his research that "when more than five people are crowded per square meter, physical contact increases sharply, and when it exceeds six, it can lead to crowd collapse."

Such crowd crush incidents have been repeated around the world. In 2022, in Malang, Indonesia, 135 people were crushed to death as spectators clashed with police after a soccer match and surged toward the exits. In 1990, 1,426 people died in a tunnel during a pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. In 2021, seven people lost their lives in a rush of evacuees at Kabul Airport in Afghanistan. The common factors in these accidents are large crowds that were anticipated, narrow movement routes, and the absence of responsible parties.

Currently, Korean airports meet all three of these conditions. Incheon International Airport operates a Safety Management System (SMS) in cooperation with airlines, ground handlers, and related agencies. However, there is no clear response system for fan gatherings during star departures. A lax safety structure can immediately lead to accidents.

Risk Analysis Data According to Population Density. Kiss Steel Suffolk University Professor Homepage

Recurring Disasters...Could This Be Another Case of "Fixing the Barn After Losing the Cow"?

Safety systems must operate before accidents occur. Major countries abroad recognize that the movement of stars is an industry structure that induces mass gatherings, and have incorporated this into their systems.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the United States operates a Private Terminal that can be used by paying an annual fee of $40,000 (about 57 million won). All processes, from baggage handling to security and boarding, are completely separated from regular passengers. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has formed VIPR (VIP Intermodal Prevention and Response) teams to proactively manage crowd-dense events at airports, railways, and other locations.

Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom operates a VIP-only terminal called the Windsor Suite, where the airport authority, police, and entertainment agencies cooperate to coordinate fan waiting areas and the timing of star movements. Haneda Airport in Japan has agreements with idol agencies to create star movement routes physically separated from regular traffic. Departure schedules are kept confidential, and movements follow pre-coordinated routes.

In Thailand, the Ministry of Culture produces and distributes fan behavior guidelines for star departures, and representatives from fan communities are responsible for on-site control. Shanghai Pudong Airport in China monitors crowd density with automatic sensors and sounds an alarm if the threshold is exceeded. Toronto Airport in Canada and Charles de Gaulle Airport in France have documented and implemented "Cultural Content Mobility Security Protocols."

In contrast, despite repeated fan gatherings, there are few cases of institutionalization in Korea. In July last year, an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management established mass crowd accidents as a separate type of social disaster, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the National Police Agency were designated as the lead agencies for disaster management. In November of the same year, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety launched a "Mass Crowd Accident Policy Council" composed of central government departments such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, local governments, and private experts, but confusion at airport sites continues to be repeated.

Need for an Effective "Policy Design Roadmap" Such as Council Formation

As long as public agencies, entertainment agencies, and fan communities operate independently, responsibilities and authority will inevitably remain ambiguous. To reduce confusion institutionally, policy design is needed on at least three levels.

First, there must be an established system for information sharing and consultation. Since star departures are pre-announced crowd events, a standing council including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the National Police Agency, airports, and major entertainment agencies should be established to share departure schedules, movement routes, and expected numbers in advance. Predictive systems using social networking service (SNS) monitoring and location data should be introduced. Based on simulation results, preemptive measures such as time dispersion or route adjustments can be taken.

Second, on-site management and order maintenance are essential. Fan cheering within the airport should be limited to pre-agreed zones, with private security personnel and safety staff assigned to those areas. In cooperation with fan communities, behavioral manuals such as bans on loud cheering and limits on stay duration should be established, and the airport should physically separate movement routes. To prevent indiscriminate leaks of departure information, information protection agreements should be made between agencies, airlines, and airports, and a dedicated "Information Trading Task Force" (TF) should be created to monitor online information trading.

Third, a social consensus and autonomous regulatory system for fan behavior must be established. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with fan communities, should develop "Public Space Behavior Guidelines" and reach social consensus on cheering, filming, and gathering methods. A "Public Order Clause" specifying warnings and expulsion for violations can be a key mechanism to ensure effectiveness.

Drawing the Line Between Autonomy and Responsibility... "A Mature Consensus Structure Is Needed"

Experts say that recurring crowd gatherings are not simply a cultural phenomenon, but a social challenge that requires a new balance between public safety and administrative capacity. Lee Yunho, professor at Dongguk University College of Police and Criminal Justice, pointed out, "In the 1980s and 1990s, police were always stationed at crowded facilities such as amusement parks, but nowadays, deploying public authority every time a K-pop star departs for overseas activities could be criticized as a waste of administrative resources." He added, "It is time for the public and private sectors to share roles and restructure the system to ensure safety."

Lawyer Son Seunghyun of Sedam Law Firm said, "Order in public spaces is an indicator of the maturity of civil society," and emphasized, "In a public space like an airport, both fans and security personnel must observe basic order." He continued, "Given the social influence and industrial contribution of K-culture, recurring fan gatherings should be approached at the system level, not just as a cultural phenomenon." He added, "If there is national consensus and trust, 'fast-track' institutionalization is also possible." Finally, he said, "Ultimately, what matters most is creating a mature consensus structure in which stars and fans respect each other's space and rights."