Daughter's Time Stopped at 25... "I Greet Her Every Day in an Empty Room"

[Anchor]

Four years ago, the victims numbered 158. Since then, a total of four more people have passed away, including two firefighters who reported psychological distress. Today (October 29) marks the fourth anniversary of the tragedy, and it is also the first year honoring 162 victims.

Reporter Park Se-won met with those left behind, who live with memories of that day that they cannot forget even if they want to.

[Reporter]

Sangeun's time stopped at the age of 25 on October 29, 2022.

Her mother, Kang Seon-yi, visits the empty room every day to meet her daughter.

[Kang Seon-yi / Bereaved family member of the Itaewon tragedy: I always hold her (daughter's photo) like this. I come and greet her in the morning and greet her in the evening.]

Kang only wants to clearly uncover and tell the truth of the tragedy to her daughter whom she can no longer meet.

[Kang Seon-yi / Bereaved family member of the Itaewon tragedy: I want to tell her, 'Mom has been living while trying hard to make sure the truth is revealed.']

The Itaewon alley where the accident occurred has lost its past vitality.

The vacancy rate for medium and large-sized commercial properties in Itaewon in the second quarter of this year stood at 14.3%, a sharp increase from 1.2% right before the tragedy.

Kang Gil-gyu, who runs a tailoring shop in Itaewon, saw his stores—which once grew to four locations—shrink to one over the past four years, but he cannot leave the workplace he has guarded for over 40 years.

However, he says he wants to erase the events of four years ago from his memory.

[Kang Gil-gyu / Merchant near Itaewon Station: Because the memories come back, and it's not a good memory, I don't want to talk about it.]

Fire Inspector Lee Young-seok, who was at the scene during the Itaewon tragedy, still cannot forget the colleagues who took their own lives after being deployed to the accident site.

[Fire Inspector Lee Young-seok / Paramedic at Seoul Gangseo Fire Station: I heard he was a cheerful officer, but when he worked with me, he seemed a bit timid and, how should I put it, seemed to be struggling.]

More than 1,300 firefighters have received psychological treatment after experiencing the Itaewon tragedy.

While thinking that trauma is a fate firefighters must bear, Fire Inspector Lee confessed that he also lives with a sense of guilt.

[Fire Inspector Lee Young-seok / Paramedic at Seoul Gangseo Fire Station: If I had worked (from a bit earlier that day), wouldn't I have been able to save even one or two more people?]

People who witnessed the tragedy four years ago and lost family members and colleagues.

What they wish for is simply the recovery of ordinary daily life.

[Kang Seon-yi / Bereaved family member of the Itaewon tragedy: Finding out how to live well through this unfortunate daily routine, and figuring out what I need to do...]

(Camera: Kim Seung-tae, Lee Sang-hak | Video Editing: So Ji-hye | VJ: Lee Jun-young | Design: Seo Seung-hyun, Byun Da-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.