Although their concerts were inevitably canceled, Kim Jae-joong and Lee Chan-won showed good manners towards fans until the end.
As the Itaewon disaster on Oct 29th saddened the entire nation and a period of national mourning was designated, Kim Jae-joong and Lee Chan-won expressed condolences by canceling their scheduled concerts. However, some fans still visited the sites where the concerts were scheduled to take place. Kim Jae-joong and Lee Chan-won showed sincerity by greeting them on stage.
First of all, Kim Jae-joong’s concert “J-JUN LIVE TOUR 2022 ~Fallinbow!”, which was scheduled to be held at the Aichi Sky Expo in Nagoya, Japan on Oct 30th, was canceled after the Itaewon disaster. Kim Jae-joong’s agency C-JeS Entertainment said, “We decided to cancel the Nagoya concert at Kim Jae-joong’s request two hours before the concert.”
Kim Jae-joong bowed his head 90 degrees, “A horrific accident happened in Korea and it’s heartbreaking. The announcement of the concert’s postponement was delayed due to a lot of thought and consultation with the staff until the end. I kept thinking carefully because I knew that I was the only Korean artist who was scheduled to perform abroad. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep my promise with you.”
Lee Chan-won was invited to perform to celebrate the first theme park picnic autumn festival held in Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do on Oct 30th. Since Korea is in a national mourning period for victims of the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy, which caused over a hundred casualties, the singer expressed his intention not to sing.
Lee Chan-won told the festival organizers that he could not sing to mourn the victims of the Itaewon disaster and asked for their understanding. He also made an announcement on Lee Chan-won Fancafe, saying, “I’ll attend the event but won’t proceed with the singing. Please refrain from shouting and clapping at the festival venue.”
Lee Chan-won did not sing, but went on the stage and apologized to the audience once again. He said, “I can’t sing today because there is a national mourning period. I’m so sorry.” However, some audiences booed Lee Chan-won as soon as he finished his words. It was reported that a man even verbally abused Lee Chan-won when the male singer was coming down from the stage. That man also started a physical fight by pushing and grabbing a staff by the collar.
Meanwhile, about 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon to enjoy the Halloween party at around 10 PM on Oct 29th, causing a massive crushing disaster. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of Nov 1st, 155 people died, 30 people were seriously injured and 122 people were lightly injured. The government designated a national mourning period until midnight of Nov 5th, and the entertainment industry was also all-stopped. Each industry, including film, broadcasting and music, participated in the commemoration by canceling broadcasts such as entertainment shows and changing to a special news system, delaying album release as well as canceling most events such as concerts and press conferences.
Source: nate
