S1E18: As the festive season nears, is Seoul gearing up for crowds again? : Letter from the Bureau

Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST’s correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe. They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises. Weeks after 159 people died in a crowd crush in Seoul’s clubbing district on Halloween, South Korea is preparing for year-end festivities. In this episode, she chats with ST's South Korea correspondent Chang May Choon. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:13 Seoul will be different this time, after the Itaewon tragedy 4:35 Ppali, ppali (fast) & skinship: understanding Korean crowd culture 9:55 Is behaviour changing in the ‘subway from hell’? 17:05 Has the Itaewon tragedy yielded some lessons? Read Chang May Choon’s article here: https://str.sg/wC5Q Produced by: Bhagyashree Garekar ([email protected]), Ernest Luis, Hadyu Rahim and Fa’izah Sani Edited by: Fa’izah Sani and Eden Soh Follow Letter From The Bureau Podcast every first Friday of the month on our Asian Insider Podcast channel here: Channel: https://str.sg/JWa7 Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/JWa8 Google Podcasts: https://str.sg/wQsB  Spotify: https://str.sg/JWaX SPH Awedio app: https://www.awedio.sg/ Website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts Feedback to: [email protected] Read Bhagyashree Garekar’s articles: https://str.sg/whNo Read Chang May Choon’s articles: https://str.sg/wCJU Read ST's Letters From The Bureau: https://str.sg/3xRd Register for Asian Insider newsletter: https://str.sg/stnewsletters --- Discover ST's special edition podcasts: Singapore's War On Covid: https://str.sg/wuJa The Unsolved Mysteries of South-east Asia: https://str.sg/wuZ2 Stop Scams: https://str.sg/wuZB Invisible Asia: https://str.sg/wuZn --- Discover more ST podcast series: Asian Insider: https://str.sg/JWa7 Green Pulse: https://str.sg/JWaf Health Check: https://str.sg/JWaN In Your Opinion: https://str.sg/w7Qt Your Money & Career: https://str.sg/wB2m #PopVultures: https://str.sg/JWad ST Sports Talk: https://str.sg/JWRE Bookmark This!: https://str.sg/JWas Lunch With Sumiko: https://str.sg/J6hQ Discover BT Podcasts: https://bt.sg/pcPL Follow our shows then, if you like short, practical podcasts! #STAsianInsiderSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.