A small street in Itaewon is cordoned off on Oct. 30, 2022, a day after a deadly crowd crush in the popular nightlife district killed more than 150 people during Halloween celebrations. (Yonhap)
SEOUL – The recent deadly crowd crush in Seoul sparked widespread interest among South Koreans in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) which can help save lives during cardiac emergencies.
Videos from Saturday's accident during Halloween festivities in Itaewon, which left 155 dead, showed not only rescue workers but also ordinary people desperately giving CPR to victims on the streets.
Posts by people who performed CPR there went viral on the internet, bringing home to people the importance of the emergency procedure.
"If there had been more people who knew how to administer CPR at the scene, the number of deaths would have decreased. After the accident, I decided to learn CPR," a 32-year-old office worker, surnamed Bae, said.
Another office worker, surnamed Lee, also plans to learn the skill.
"I have been aware that CPR is important, but had no chance to learn it. If I had been at the scene and had known how to do CPR, I would have helped save lives,' Lee, in his 20s, said.
Public organizations that offer training on CPR and other first aid skills saw people's inquiries sharply increase after the incident.
"After the Itaewon crowd crush, inquiries about training have more than doubled at our headquarters and branch offices in the greater Seoul region," an official at the Korean Red Cross said.
An official of the Korean Association of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation said the number of visits to its website quadrupled after the incident.
He emphasized the need for increased CPR training in schools and the general public.
"Immediate performance of CPR after cardiac arrest can more than triple the chances of survival of the patients," the official said. (Yonhap)
