In mourning for the victims of the “Itaewon Halloween crowd crush”, a series of Korean entertainment shows and events got canceled
The entire entertainment industry was also shaken in the aftermath of the crowd crush disaster in Itaewon ahead of Halloween.
Many entertainment events scheduled for Halloween Day (October 31st) have been canceled due to the recent Halloween crowd crush disaster in Itaewon, Seoul. Earlier on October 29th, a crush accident occurred in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, causing 151 deaths and 82 injuries (as of 10:30 a.m on October 30th). Foreign media are also paying attention to the number of foreigners who died in this disaster.
Since the exact cause of the accident has not been identified and the number of casualties is so large, the Korean entertainment industry itself also seems to refrain from mentioning the word Halloween. Performances, broadcasts, and movie stage greetings have been canceled one after another. First of all, SM Entertainment decided not to hold their private Halloween party “SMTOWN WONDERLAND 2022”, which was also scheduled to air live through the global platform Beyond LIVE. Early in the morning of October 30th, SM announced on the fan community KWANGYA CLUB, “The ‘SMTOWN WONDERLAND 2022’ event itself has been canceled, there will also be no red carpet live broadcast. We would like to ask for your understanding”.
The Strike Music Festival, which had been held since October 28th with the “fantasy Halloween” concept, also canceled its performance on the 30th. Three years after the Covid-19 pandemic, Strike Music Festival was held by combining EDM parties and conceptual styles for the Halloween season. An official from BEPCTANGENT, the host of the festival, said, “We would like to express our deep condolences to the victims and bereaved families in the Itaewon Halloween disaster. We will refund all tickets for the Oct 30th show.”
The Busan One Asia Festival (BOF) also announced the cancellation of its K-pop concert 8 hours ago. BOF K-pop concert was originally planned to be held at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium on October 30th with the attendance of 13 famous singers and idol groups, including Kai, MAMAMOO, Kang Daniel, Yuju, Pentagon, (G)I-DLE, WEi, Purple Kiss, and Brave Girls.
Singer Jang Yoon-jeong canceled the show in Jinju of her “Jang Yoon-jeong Live Concert”, and singer Youngtak also announced the cancellation of “TAK SHOW” in Andong. Also, “Peak Box 22-03”, featuring star singers Park Jae-jung, Monday Kiz, etc., will not be held.
Broadcasters also prioritize special news reports. Three terrestrial broadcasters, SBS, KBS and MBC, as well as comprehensive program channels, such as JTBC, TV Chosun, MBN, and Channel A, decided to replace their existing entertainment program broadcasts with news reports. The broadcasts of a number of popular programs, including “TV Animal Farm”, “Inkigayo”, “Running Man” (SBS), “Boss In The Mirror”, “2 Days & 1 Night” (KBS), “King of Mask Singer” (MBC), “Buddy Boys”, “We Kick Together 2”, drama “The Empire” (JTBC), etc., have been canceled.
The film industry has also joined the mourning period. Lotte Entertainment, the distributor of “Confession”, announced the cancellation of the movie stage greeting on October 30th, saying “Our decision was made following the national mourning period for the recent disaster, so we ask for your generous understanding”. ACEMAKER MOVIEWORKS, the distributor of “Remember”, also decided not to hold the movie greeting stage.
Source: Daum
