i see a lot of old guys crying here outside the mural. non-related. collective feeling really is that strong. i wasn’t kidding when i said the atmosphere was funereal. they are ultra protective over their kids here, especially since the sewol ferry disaster (which this feels like an awful sequel to: any survivors of the ferry disaster would have been just old enough to die in this crush: wow).
after a week checking on everyone, and lots of stress, everyone is accounted for. korean privacy laws are such that they won’t release a list of the dead unless family explicitly give permission. a sound policy, but when your entire social life revolves around this square kilometre, it’s been testing to say the least. i’ve spent most days this last week in bed. (i took a hike today and finally started to put distance on it.)
a girl i dated a few weeks ago was there. she was the last person to respond to me. she was right there. i feared she would be (it was the exact spot i first met her). she said she was on the outdoor terrace next to the crowd and watched people being crushed to death, metres away. this girl is 24 years old. barely out or college. she didn’t know it at the time; but one of the deceased is her close friend. just unimaginable.
after a week checking on everyone, and lots of stress, everyone is accounted for. korean privacy laws are such that they won’t release a list of the dead unless family explicitly give permission. a sound policy, but when your entire social life revolves around this square kilometre, it’s been testing to say the least. i’ve spent most days this last week in bed. (i took a hike today and finally started to put distance on it.)
a girl i dated a few weeks ago was there. she was the last person to respond to me. she was right there. i feared she would be (it was the exact spot i first met her). she said she was on the outdoor terrace next to the crowd and watched people being crushed to death, metres away. this girl is 24 years old. barely out or college. she didn’t know it at the time; but one of the deceased is her close friend. just unimaginable.
Last edited by uziq (2022-11-05 07:56:35)