[COVER STORY] Itaewon, October 2022: importance of memory

Bruno Figueroa’s photographs of Itaewon on Oct. 28, 2022, capture a Halloween celebration he describes as a space of freedom before the deadly crowd crush the following night. He says the tragedy, which killed 159 people, resulted from too many people in narrow streets and alleys without crowd management. An exhibition of 33 photographs, titled The Last Carnival of Korea, has been on display at the Centro Cultural de Cascais in Portugal since July and is scheduled to remain until Saturday. A new set of his photographs is due to be exhibited at Lisbon’s Museu de Oriente starting Feb. 9.

Figueroa said he took 280 pictures in Itaewon until 1 a.m. on the night before the tragedy.

He said his deputy at the Mexican Embassy stayed in contact with police through the night to find out whether Mexican nationals were among the victims.

Figueroa described Itaewon as a temporary space where strict social rules were set aside and diversity, individuality and self-expression were embraced.

The article attributes the description of Itaewon as a small special zone of freedom and a space of exception to Lee Hong, author of The Lady from Gangnam.

Published Oct 29, 2026 7:00 am KST

People in Halloween costumes pack an alley in Itaewon, Seoul, Oct. 28, 2022, a day before a crowd crush killed more than 150 people. Courtesy of Bruno Figueroa

I was in Itaewon on the night of Oct. 28, 2022, taking photos.

The following night, I learned from my deputy at the Mexican Embassy about the tragedy that had just happened. He went as close as he could to the scene and kept in contact with the police all night, trying to find out if any Mexican nationals were among the victims and reporting to me regularly until dawn. As the number of dead rose, eventually reaching 159, I grieved deeply, as did the Korean people and the foreign families who lost loved ones.

How could that happen? I knew the reason, because I was there the night before: too many people in such small streets and alleys and no crowd management at all.

People smoke outside a bar in Itaewon, Seoul, Oct. 28, 2022, a day before a crowd crush killed more than 150 people. Courtesy of Bruno Figueroa

The following year, before the first anniversary, I examined the 280 pictures I had taken until 1 a.m. What I saw were young people parading in sheer happiness and excitement, joyful at taking pictures and being photographed.

I have lived in the United States and knew about the aesthetic of Halloween, where “everyone is entitled to one good scare,” as Ray Bradbury wrote. The horror theme was certainly there in Itaewon. However, the party transcended Halloween. Why so many comic book characters, Cinderellas, a shirtless torero showing his muscles and Jesus Christ? Even some drag queens, two ladies dressed up in full sadomasochistic regalia and young women exposing more of their bodies than you could expect?

An Itaewon alley is packed with people, Oct. 28, 2022, a day before a crowd crush killed more than 150 people. Courtesy of Bruno Figueroa

There was something deeper in what I saw and photographed: They were happy because this was genuinely a space of freedom for a couple of nights, during which strict social rules were abolished. It was, without that name, a carnival in the classical definition given by the anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep, who defined it as when regular societal laws, hierarchies and social structures are turned upside-down.

Itaewon was, according to Lee Hong, author of "The Lady from Gangnam," a small “special zone of freedom” within Seoul, a “space of exception,” and “one of the few places in Seoul where diversity, individuality, and self-expression were openly embraced.”

People in Halloween costumes pose in an alley in Itaewon, Seoul, Oct. 28, 2022, a day before a crowd crush killed more than 150 people. Courtesy of Bruno Figueroa

Itaewon lived for many years, during Halloween, in a state of anarchy — from the Green "anarchos," meaning without rulers — and it was that anarchy that led to the tragedy. I reflected that nothing would be the same after 2022, and I was right: so many police and the memories of the fatal night killed spontaneity and much of the self-expression.

I chose 33 pictures, and they have been on display since July and will remain on display until Saturday at the Centro Cultural de Cascais in Portual, under the title "The Last Carnival of Korea." Lisbon’s acclaimed Museu de Oriente will also exhibit a new set of pictures next year, starting on Feb. 9 — Carnival Day.

People crowd into an alley in Itaewon, Oct. 28, 2022, a day before a crowd crush killed more than 150 people. Courtesy of Bruno Figueroa

Quoting Lee Hong again, those pictures “perhaps remain a memory of Korea’s last carnival — a moment that can never be restored in quite the same form again.”

Bruno Figueroa was former Mexican ambassador to Korea. He is currently serving in Portugal.

布鲁诺·菲格罗亚拍摄的2022年10月28日梨泰院照片，记录了一场他形容为“自由空间”的万圣节庆祝活动，而次日晚间却发生了致命的人群踩踏事件。他表示，这场造成159人死亡的悲剧是由于狭窄的街道和小巷里人流过多，且缺乏有效的人群管理造成的。名为“韩国最后的狂欢节”的摄影展展出了菲格罗亚的33幅作品，自7月起在葡萄牙卡斯卡伊斯文化中心展出，并将持续到本周六。他的另一组新作品将于2月9日起在里斯本东方博物馆展出。

菲格罗亚说，在悲剧发生的前一天晚上，他一直到凌晨1点在梨泰院拍摄了280张照片。

他说，他在墨西哥大使馆的副手整夜与警方保持联系，以查明是否有墨西哥公民在遇难者之列。

菲格罗亚将梨泰院描述为一个临时空间，在这里，严格的社会规则被抛诸脑后，多样性、个性和自我表达得到了拥抱。

文章将梨泰院描述为一个小型特殊的自由区域和一个例外空间的论述归功于《江南来的女人》的作者李洪。

发布于2026年10月29日韩国时间上午7:00

2022年10月28日，在首尔梨泰院一条小巷里，人们身着万圣节服装熙熙攘攘。就在一天后，一场人群踩踏事件发生，造成150多人死亡。图片由Bruno Figueroa提供。

2022年10月28日晚，我在梨泰院拍照。

第二天晚上，我从墨西哥大使馆的副手那里得知了刚刚发生的悲剧。他尽可能赶到现场，并整夜与警方保持联系，试图查明是否有墨西哥公民遇难，并定期向我汇报情况，直到黎明。随着死亡人数的上升，最终达到159人，我深感悲痛，韩国人民和失去亲人的外国家庭也同样悲痛欲绝。

怎么会发生这种事？我知道原因，因为我前一天晚上就在那里：狭窄的街道和小巷里挤满了人，而且根本没有人群管理措施。

2022年10月28日，在首尔梨泰院一家酒吧外，人们正在吸烟。第二天，一场人群踩踏事件发生，造成150多人死亡。图片由Bruno Figueroa提供。

第二年，在一周年纪念日之前，我查看了凌晨 1 点拍摄的 280 张照片。我看到的是一群年轻人兴高采烈地游行，他们既享受拍照的乐趣，也乐于被拍照。

我曾在美国生活，了解万圣节的审美，正如雷·布拉德伯里所写，“每个人都有权享受一次惊吓”。梨泰院的派对确实充满了恐怖元素。然而，这场派对的意义远不止于万圣节。为什么会有那么多漫画人物、灰姑娘、赤膊展示肌肉的斗牛士，甚至还有耶稣基督？甚至还有一些变装皇后、两位身着全套虐恋服饰的女士，以及一些穿着暴露的年轻女性，她们的身材之暴露程度远超你的想象。

2022年10月28日，梨泰院一条小巷挤满了人，第二天就发生了踩踏事件，造成150多人死亡。图片由Bruno Figueroa提供。

我从所见所闻中看到了更深层次的东西：他们之所以快乐，是因为在短短几个夜晚，这里确实是一个自由的空间，严格的社会规则都被打破了。即便没有“狂欢节”这个名称，它仍然符合人类学家阿诺德·范·根纳普对狂欢节的经典定义——即常规社会法律、等级制度和社会结构被彻底颠覆。

据《江南来的女人》的作者李洪所说，梨泰院是首尔境内一个小小的“自由的特殊区域”，一个“例外空间”，也是“首尔为数不多的几个公开拥抱多样性、个性和自我表达的地方之一”。

2022年10月28日，在首尔梨泰院的一条小巷里，人们身着万圣节服装摆姿势拍照。一天后，一场人群踩踏事件发生，造成150多人死亡。图片由Bruno Figueroa提供。

多年来，梨泰院在万圣节期间一直处于一种无政府状态——源于“绿色无政府主义”（Anarchos），意为没有统治者——而正是这种无政府状态最终导致了悲剧的发生。我当时就预感到，2022年之后一切都将改变，而我的预感是正确的：大量的警察以及那个致命夜晚的记忆扼杀了人们的自发性和许多自我表达。

我挑选了33幅照片，它们自7月起在葡萄牙卡斯凯什文化中心展出，并将持续展出至本周六，展览名为“韩国最后的狂欢节”。里斯本著名的东方博物馆明年也将展出一批新的照片，展览将于2月9日——狂欢节当天——开幕。

2022年10月28日，人们挤在梨泰院的一条小巷里，第二天就发生了踩踏事件，造成150多人死亡。图片由布鲁诺·菲格罗亚提供。

再次引用李洪的话，这些照片“或许会成为韩国最后一次狂欢节的记忆——一个永远无法以同样形式重现的时刻。”

布鲁诺·菲格罗亚曾任墨西哥驻韩国大使，目前在葡萄牙任职。