<Anchor>
Two days have passed since the accident occurred last weekend in Itaewon, Seoul.
So far, 154 people have been killed and close to 150 injured.
A wave of remembrance continues across the country as incense burners are set up everywhere to pay tribute to the victims.
In today's (31st) special 8 o'clock news, we will look at the cause and responsibility of this disaster, and tell you the stories of the victims.
And I will tell you in advance that we do not use provocative field videos in the news in principle, and we will use them in moderation as much as possible only when explaining the accident situation.
First, let's go to Seoul Plaza, where a joint incense place for the victims is prepared.
Reporter Bo-mi Kim, a joint incense burner was prepared there this morning, and people are still looking for it.
<Reporter>
Yes, here at the Joint Incense Center in Seoul Plaza, mourners have been pouring in to commemorate the souls of the victims since 10 am when the general mourning began.
Even after work hours have passed, the mourning procession continues to commemorate the victims and share their sorrows with the bereaved family.
I listened to the voices of the citizens who came here.
[Jang Seon-ah/Mourner: Yesterday (the victim's friend) went to the mortuary to pay tribute, and I think I came here because I wanted to express my feelings a little more.]
A 20-year-old crying saying that the catastrophe suffered by my peers feels like my own business,
[Park Ye-sun/Mourner: (On the day of the accident) I was going to go to Itaewon, but I couldn’t go for other reasons, but I saw some of my friends there, and I know too well that I would not have been able to avoid it if I was there because I am the same age as myself…
.]
There was also the footsteps of the parents' generation who grieved over the deaths of their children's victims.
[Han Jung-seop/Mourner: Yesterday, I went to the Itaewon site in the evening, but it was so sad.
I am so saddened and saddened by the fact that young people in their 20s and 30s have passed away with such a hard time...
.]
On the first day of the installation of the incense burner, the atmosphere was generally calm and somber, but there were occasional mourners who could not contain their sadness and cry.
<Anchor>
There are a lot of people who want to comfort the victims and share their sorrow, but the incense burner is open until the weekend, right?
<Reporter>
Yes, that's right.
Politicians also visited the incense burners in large numbers.
At 9:30 am today, starting with President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife, condolences from the ruling and opposition leaders, the prime minister, and the State Councilors continued.
The city of Seoul said that as of 5 p.m., about 4,000 people had visited the incense place and paid their condolences.
The incense burner will be open for six days from today until this Saturday, the national mourning period.
In addition to Seoul Plaza, joint incense burners have been installed in all 25 autonomous districts of Seoul, including Itaewon’s Noksapyeong Station Square near the accident site.
You can check the location and operating hours on the website of each city, province, and autonomous district.
(On-site conduct: Kim Dae-cheol, video coverage: Oh Young-chun, Kim Seung-tae, video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)