For the safety of many, street vendors in Myeongdong collectively decide to close on Christmas Eve. No one can ever forget the horrifying Itaewon crowd crush on Halloween this year. Many lives were taken in the gruelling catastrophe. And those who survived have to bear the weight of sadness and longing for a long time.
The accident made many people more cautious about big crowds. Especially this upcoming Christmas, streets all over the world are brimming with customers shopping for the necessities for a joyful celebration.
For your information, Myeongdong is the hub of fashion, culture and food in Seoul. The streets are always busy, especially during big celebrations like Halloween and Christmas.
It is to prevent a possible crowd control disaster
This Christmas, street vendors in Myeongdong will not operate. It is to avoid anything unwanted happening twice.
According to The Korea Times, street vendors in Myeongdong operate every other day from 3 pm to 11 pm. Each stall operates 15 days a month. On average, 130 stalls are running. However, when the pandemic hit, the number of sales decreased. Thus, this caused a 52.5% vacancy rate for the stall spot in Myeongdong.
Even though there was a gradual increase after the pandemic ban was lifted, the Itaewon crowd crush occurred. Street vendors don’t want to risk witnessing another life-threatening accident again.
Street vendors join forces with the district office
25 street vendors will go hand-in-hand with the Jung District Office on Christmas Eve. They will help control passenger traffic and prevent congestion. One of them said, “[The street vendors] know where, when and how crowds from here, from decades of experience of running businesses.”
Prevention is better than cure. To avoid facing another heartbreaking tragedy, it’s the best decision they made for the safety of everyone.
We hope everyone will always stay safe, regardless of your location.
Sources: The Korea Times, Mothership