Accident in Gyeongju

While watching the 9 o’clock news last night, it was reported that a gymnasium located in the southeastern city of Gyeongju collapsed. Freshmen students of Busan University of Foreign Language were in the gymnasium for their orientation. About 565 were in attendance and among them, 100 students suffered minor injuries. Ten people died.

The site of the accident
The site of the accident

Rescue efforts continue all through the night...
Rescue efforts continue all through the night…

The cause of the collapse is the heavy snowfall which the “sandwich” type building couldn’t sustain. The rescue workers, about 1,200 in total, worked all night rescuing trapped students despite the continuous snowfall.
How the building looked like the morning after...
How the building looked like the morning after…

Today, hundreds of students and their families attended the wake of the ten people who died. Just watching the moms bawling breaks my heart. The students had just finished high school and passed the grueling Korean college entrance exams they prepared for for years.
Grieving families and friends...
Grieving families and friends…

Honoring the ten people who died...
Honoring the ten people who died…

In modern Korea, many families have only one or two kids. It is not common to find a family with three children. I couldn’t even imagine what their families are going through.

2 comments

  1. Condolence to the families who lost their son/daughter, i cant imagine also the parents who only have 1 kid and lost in this accident.GOD bless them

  2. tears came into my eyes just by reading this…. i cannot imagine what those parents went through.. what struck me most was the fact that they’re freshmen… OMG i feel so sorry for them…. my condolences to the parents and the loved ones of those ten…

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