On October 30, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism released a statement mourning the victims who lost their lives in the deadly crowd crush in Itaewon during the Halloween festivity on October 29 and pray for their rebirth in the Western Paradise of Amitabha. “We offer the most heartfelt condolences to the victims of the Itaewon crush disaster and their families. We ardently pray for the souls of those precious young lives, taken away from this world so suddenly, will be reborn in the Buddha’s Pure Land,” read Ven. Seonghwa (Head of the Planning Office) on behalf of the Jogye Order. “We will also pray for the swift recovery of all those who got injured in the deadly crush accident so that they will return safely to their homes.”

Ven. Seonghwa, the spokesperson for the Jogye Order emphasized, “We have another catastrophic mass casualty accident because the safety of citizens was overlooked yet again. The government must scrutinize why such a disaster happened againmost thoroughly to make sure the lives of the younger generation, Korea’s hope for the future, will never be sacrificed again. It is high time for the entire society to be mobilized to find ways to prevent tragic and senseless deaths from ever happening again.”

He concluded the statement by saying, “Finally, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism will do its utmost to support the victims’ families, to help lessen their suffering in any way we can.”

The text of the statement released by the Jogye Order is as follows.

[Statement]

We offer the most heartfelt condolences to the victims of the Itaewon crush disaster and their families. We ardently pray for the souls of those precious young lives, taken away from this world so suddenly, will be reborn in the Buddha’s Pure Land. We will also pray for the swift recovery of all those who got injured in the deadly crush accident so that they will return safely to their homes.

We have another catastrophic mass casualty accident because the safety of citizens was overlooked yet again. The government must scrutinize why such a disaster happened again most thoroughly to make sure the lives of the younger generation, Korea’s hope for the future, will never be sacrificed again. It is high time for the entire society to be mobilized to find ways to prevent tragic and senseless deaths from ever happening again. Finally, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism will do its utmost to support the victims’ families, to help lessen their suffering in any way we can.

October 30, B.E 2566 (2022)

Seonghwa

Spokesperson, Head of the Planning Office

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism