Why couldn’t the Seoul government save them from Saturday’s horrible disaster?
In South Korea, police are often so clever at crowd control that the country’s protest demonstrations look like choreographed events. Tens of thousands of others marched down the roads chanting protest slogans and even picking up trash behind them. Police officers dressed in bright greenish yellow campers walk nearby, guiding protesters and conscientiously diverting traffic. . . .
[T]he officials in Seoul said the spontaneous and disorderly crowd took them by surprise Saturday night. Itaewon every Halloween meets freely in large numbers, without the restrictions or permits necessary to hold large organized events.