hankyoreh

A coworker of Yuliana Pak, a teacher who lost her life in the deadly Itaewon crowd crush, pays her respects at Pak’s wake, held in Incheon on Nov. 3. (Kim Myoung-jin/The Hankyoreh)

“I gave her a bouquet of flowers three months ago on her birthday… I’m so sad that the flowers I’m giving her now are of a different nature.”

At 2 pm on Thursday, Natalia (47) had tears streaming from her bloodshot eyes when she arrived at the Hambak Social Welfare Center in Incheon’s Yeonsu District, where a memorial was being held for Yuliana Pak, a 25-year-old Kareisky woman who was killed in the Itaewon crowd crush on Saturday.

Natalia’s daughter was with Yuliana in Itaewon that day.

“The two were close. My daughter came back alive,” she said, trailing off.

“Yuliana was such a cheery child,” Natalia said before bursting into tears. She stood with her back against the wall in the memorial area and gazed at Yuliana’s photograph for a long time.

Maria, Yuliana’s cousin, embraced Artur Pak (65), her father, and wept. The Yuliana she remembered was a kind, sweet child who had many friends.

“She was such a kind child who did lots of volunteering,” Maria said.

Yuliana came to Korea in July 2021. Prior to her death, she had been working as a kindergarten instructor in Incheon. She liked Korea and wanted to continue living in the country. She went to Itaewon to celebrate Halloween on Saturday, only to never come back from the tragedy.

Beneath her smiling portrait was evidence of many happy memories she must’ve harbored throughout her life. A photograph that stood out in particular was one taken last summer, where she’s standing with her father, the Incheon cityscape at night in the background. Resting on her father’s shoulder, her face is full of anticipation about her upcoming life in Korea.

Not only did Yuliana’s acquaintances come to the memorial, but residents of the neighborhood also came to say their farewells. “I taught Kareisky children Korean. Hearing about Yuliana made my heart ache,” said Lee Hyung-nam, a 68-year-old who lives nearby.

Yuliana’s father goes back and forth between Korea and Russia to work. He had difficulty raising the money needed to bring his daughter home. Since he came to Korea in October, all he had was around 1 million won. He managed to raise money for embalmment and ferry transportation by borrowing money from acquaintances and through the money raised in a fundraiser via Facebook.

“After the tragedy, there were so many things to take care of. Thankfully, since Yuliana was so outgoing, she had many friends, which was a big help in solving so many issues. I want to express my thanks to those who sent money, whether it was a big amount or small. I also thank everyone who is mourning for my daughter,” Yuliana’s father said at the memorial service held at 5 pm on Thursday.

When reporters asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell his daughter before the start of the memorial service, he hid his face in his hands, so overcome by emotion he was unable to speak.

“I’ve always felt sorry. What I remember the most is back when she was only a year old, and since she couldn’t speak, she would hum songs.”

Yuliana will be transported at 8 am on Friday to the East Sea after her coffin is borne out of Eulji University Hospital, which is located in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. Her coffin will then leave the country from the International Passenger Terminal in Donghae, Gangwon Province at 4 pm and arrive in Vladivostok, Russia, at 3 pm on Saturday.

The funeral will be held in her hometown of Nakhodka.

By Ahn Tae-ho, staff reporter

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