Victims' Families Protest Game Featuring Itaewon Crush CPR Scene
It was revealed on the 28th that the opening video of the new shooter game 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4' by American game company Activision includes about 3 seconds of actual broadcast footage of paramedics performing CPR (emergency treatment to save people whose breathing and heartbeat have stopped) during the Itaewon crowd crush, drawing backlash from victims' families and civic groups. The video depicts a fictional scenario in which North Korea invades South Korea causing civilian casualties, presented in the form of a mock news broadcast, showing the broadcast footage taken at the scene shortly after the tragedy, along with police control lines and collapsed victims. The game in question was released worldwide simultaneously on the 23rd.
Victims' families and civic groups have raised the issue ahead of the fourth anniversary of the Itaewon tragedy. Jo In-young, co-head of the situation room at the October 29 Itaewon Disaster Citizens' Countermeasure Council, pointed out: "They were extremely insensitive to the suffering that families, victims, and citizens feel when seeing the scene of the tragedy as it was, and this happened because they did not consider the dignity of the victims." Jo added, "Foreign bereaved family members are currently in Korea to attend the memorial service, and we plan to collect the families' signatures and formally raise the issue."
The Korean Game Users Association also urged the developer to respond responsibly through a statement. The association demanded: "There must be a clear explanation of the circumstances and an apology regarding the fact that footage of a tragic disaster, unrelated to the context of the game's progression, was used and caused harm to the bereaved families and others," and asked that they "respond responsibly, including carrying out an update to replace the footage in question." At the same time, they emphasized that "this controversy must not escalate into demands for censorship of the game's content itself or unjustified restrictions."
