The Halloween celebration went too far in Seoul this year after it resulted in 153 deaths. After a long pandemic in which people missed concerts and social interaction, Halloween seemed like a great holiday to celebrate, that could be enjoyed to the fullest. This morning, however, all the news channels and social networks were full of news regarding the tragedy in Seoul.
How the celebration began
Unlike the Europeans who have a different culture, and a different way of acting (especially the Eastern European who were taught to be more restrained in expressing themselves), South Korea is something else, a culture that only in recent years we have started to discover. From the pictures and videos on the street, it seemed that Korean society was in a kind of competition to attract attention. Many tried to look as authentic as possible, as you can see in the picture below.
In a somewhat similar way, on Halloween young people dress thematically in other countries too, but the difference is in their behavior. People from Europe generally don’t get into the character completely, meaning that many of the young people will be disguised as demons but they won’t act like one. Those from South Korea, however, tried to be as original as possible. We see this in the footage from the street on Halloween night. We find on tik-tok people who crawl on the ground, walk with a limp, with an unnatural body position just to have a more special character.
The behavior problem
This holiday is beautiful in its own way because it comes with a note of novelty, it is different from what we see in everyday life, so it takes us out of our routine. However, it is necessary to behave normally. Why? Precisely for situations like this one in Seoul where someone shouts and cries that they are hurt, we should be able to differentiate theater from reality and know when to help. (This is quite a big problem considering the many situations staged on the streets with the aim of creating original video content. Hence the competition for originality, but also the creation of another social culture in which people no longer try to help anybody because of these staged situations for video content).
How did it reach 153 dead in Seoul?
From the desire to participate in the festival and to enjoy the celebration after the lifting of the pandemic restrictions, young people came out to celebrate. The streets were full of people; “so crowded that it was difficult to move, even to breathe” write those from CNN World.
It all started with panic and rush. Without any reason, some people started to push each other, while some started to shout, causing a wave of panic. Some people were walking in front, others in the back – all were pushing each other trying to get out of the crowd. At one point, some people started climbing on buildings, on poles to survive.
How do we classify the Seoul incident?
Given the official statements and the interviews taken from those present at the festival, everything was an unfortunate incident in which a group of people sparked a chain of panic reactions. Everyone gathered at the Festival until they created a huge crowd; later, people overcome by the feeling of panic sparked a wave of actions that led to this tragic moment.
Is Halloween a dangerous holiday?
Globalization spread different traditions and holidays throughout the world. As a result, the Halloween celebration was widely embraced by certain people, especially those from Europe and Asia. But let’s see where this celebration comes from.
It all starts with the Celts of Great Britain and Ireland from ancient times. The roots of Halloween are not necessarily religious, but they are related to the way people behaved to protect themselves from evil spirits, so it is a celebration with a spiritual connotation.
Halloween was often associated with the New Year, which at that time began on November 1. Because of this celebration, the Celts believed that the spirits of the dead returned home, that’s why people lit many lights and dressed in different costumes with the intention of scaring the evil spirits, but also not to be recognized by the ghosts. Often masquerading as witches, goblins, demons, or dead people, they believed that the spirits would mistake people for spirits and not harm them.
Although we often hear Christian voices criticizing this holiday, Halloween is no different from other religious holidays in Europe.
In Orthodox Christian countries such as Romania and Moldova, for example, it was customary for the young people who were going with “uratul” (wishing people a good year) to disguise themselves on New Year’s Eve. Even more, we have a wide set of traditions that we practice in the evening of St. Basil. These traditions have exactly the same purpose – to protect family members and animals from evil spirits.
In Bulgaria, there is a similar celebration called Kukeri. Depending on the locality, between January and February, Bulgarian men and boys dress in fur suits with the intention of scaring away evil spirits.
We find somewhat similar festivals and traditions in the same period of the year in Great Britain and Ireland (mummers) or in Sardinia, Italy.
In Sardinia, this festival is called Barbagia Carnival, and it takes place every year on January 16. The idea of this festival is to show the struggle between man and nature. People dress up as different gods, demons, and creatures that are half-man and half-beast. The reason why this festival appeared is that it was believed that people who don’t wear masks end up going crazy, being possessed not knowing if their human face is the real one or not. It was believed that those who do not wear masks are recognized by the ancient divinities and demons who return home on this holiday and that they possess the bodies of the people who don’t wear masks. This celebration is an authentic one with religious-pagan ceremonies followed by a kind of metamorphosis.
Conclusions
The incident in Seoul is a tragic one and certainly one from which we can draw some conclusions and learn a few things. The most important thing to note is that we must develop our sense of consciousness. We have to be aware of those around us, to respect each other – something that implies not getting too close to each other because it’s about privacy, personal space, etc.
We all know that when it comes to survival, each of us acts without thinking too much; yet there is something we can fix, namely the way we act consciously until we reach dangerous situations. Consciously, many of those present at the festival should have not allowed to create such a crowd in the first place.
It is the common sense that should have made people wonder: if I want to go to the bathroom too, how will I get out of here?
Sources
Bae G., Hancocks P., Jeong S., Yeung J., Ripley W., 2022. South Korea searches for answers after Halloween festivities leave 151 dead. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/29/asia/south-korea-halloween-cardiac-arrest-intl/index.html
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2022. Haloween. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Halloween
Angelova M., 2017. Kukeri, Bulgaria’s bizarre festival of monsters. Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/bulgaria/articles/kukeri-bulgarias-bizarre-festival-of-monsters/
VisitItaly.eu, 2022. The Carnival of the gods: traditional masks Sardinia’s heartland. Available at: https://www.visititaly.eu/exhibitions-events-and-shows/masks-of-sardinia-the-carnival-in-the-island-of-mamuthones
Chuljunsung C., 2016. Halloween at theme parks in Seoul. Available at: https://www.timeout.com/seoul/things-to-do/halloween-at-theme-parks-in-seoul
Jurnal Spiritual, 2022. Obceiuri si traditii de Anul Nou. Available at: https://jurnalspiritual.eu/obiceiuri-traditii-de-anul-nou/