hankyoreh

Oksana Kim as illustrated by Kwon Min-ji

She came to Korea in 2018 as a 21-year-old, freshly graduated from nursing school. In the four years she spent in Korea after following her two “sisters,” with whom she was thick as thieves, she found another family: her fiancé, Yegor, 27, and their pet cat Salomon. At 25, Oksana Kim dreamed of building a happy family.

Oksana was born and raised in a small town called Spassk-Dalny, about 243 kilometers from Vladivostok, in eastern Russia. Oksana’s family are Kareisky people who have lived in the town for four generations.

Oliana Kim, Oksana’s older cousin, lived two blocks away. Even though they were cousins, they acted more like sisters. They lived in the same town and went to the same school before they headed to different universities. They were attached at the hip. Whenever Oksana met a new friend, she introduced them to her cousin and her older sister.

“There are my sisters,” she said.

Oksana was always ready to help others. She was kind to everyone and was known to be bubbly, and for that reason was always surrounded by friends. Each year on her birthday, the townspeople gathered as if attending a small festival.

“If someone was in need, she always offered her hand first. It was never a one-time thing, but she would help them out two times, three times. She was really kind. She was never on bad terms with anyone, and always tried to be considerate,” Oksana’s cousin Oliana said. “Everyone loved her.”

After her sister and cousin went to college, Oksana enrolled in nursing school in Vladivostok. It was the perfect major for Oksana, who was not afraid of syringes or blood, and loved to help others.

The young woman also liked music. She was quick to sing a tune, and as a talented pianist, whenever she participated in a competition, she would come out with a prize. She was deeply into K-pop. She loved Yang Yo-seob of Beast and Kim Jae-joong of JYJ. She dreamed of going to Korea one day.

Oliana, who graduated from university first, came to Korea in 2015. The following year, Oksana’s older sister, Elena, also left Russia. It was in November 2018 that Oksana came to Korea.

After arriving in Korea, Oksana worked with her sisters in a mobile phone store. A year after that, they all ended up finding new jobs and moving to different areas, but still met up a few times a month. The last time that Oliana, who worked in Dongdaemun, and Oksana, who worked in Yongsan, met up was on their way home from work in the summer of 2022. They both got on Line 1 to get home. Oliana got off first at Bupyeong Station and waved goodbye to her cousin. She never would have dreamed that that would be the last time she would see Oksana.

Oksana’s father Igor Kim and mother Anna Kim-Ju speak to Hankyoreh 21 in a virtual call.

On Oct. 29, Oksana headed to Itaewon at the bequest of a friend, who loved Halloween and wanted to have dinner together. Oksana did not like drinking. One glass would turn her face a fiery red. Not one for crowded areas like Itaewon, she didn’t like Halloween and hadn’t ever really enjoyed celebrating it.

Too many coincidences overlapped that day. If only the friend that Oksana met that day hadn’t wanted to celebrate Halloween, if Oksana’s boyfriend’s back pain hadn’t flared up and he had been able to join them — if all of that had been the case, could the tragedy have been avoided?

Even a month after the tragedy, Oliana keeps going back to that day and throws pointless “what-ifs” in the air.

At 11:40 pm that day, Oliana received a phone call. It was the friend that Oksana was going to meet at Itaewon.

“Do you have Oksana’s boyfriend’s number?”

“Why?”

“Oksana isn’t breathing. She’s been lying on the road for an hour.”

Oliana couldn’t process those sentences. “What’re you talking about?”

“There are too many people. It’s way too crowded. Too many people can’t breathe.”

Amid all that chaos, the call cut off. Around 20 minutes later, Oliana got another call.

“The ambulance came, but it was too late… Oksana… is dead.”

Oliana headed straight to Itaewon. She went to Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan District, but wasn’t let in. She waited in front of the hospital until 5 am the next day, and then waited until 11 am in front of the Hannam Community Service Center, but no one told her the whereabouts of Oksana.

Oliana obtained a list of the hospitals that the ambulance had gone to, and, with the help of Yegor, went by each hospital one by one. The community center got in contact with them to inform them that Oksana was in the Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong. When they arrived at the hospital, it was past 11 pm on Oct. 30.

The police said that Oksana had dinner in a restaurant behind the Hamilton Hotel and left around 10 pm. She was stuck in the crowd, unable to move for 40 minutes, only to be rescued as she fell. She received CPR, but eventually died.

The wedding dress for Oksana picked out by Oliana, Elena and Yegor. (courtesy of the deceased’s family)

On Oct. 31, Oliana, Elena and Yegor went around several clothing stores. They were going to choose a wedding dress for Oksana. In the neighborhood they grew up in, it is traditional for unwed women to wear a wedding dress before they are buried. Her death was still so unbelievable, but they had to find a white dress for Oksana to wear.

Oksana’s loved ones shed tears while picking out a dress for their lost friend, prompting a store employee to ask why they were crying. It just so happened that news of the Itaewon disaster started to play on the store’s television. Instead of answering the question, Oliana sobbed and sobbed.

Yegor had previously promised that the two of them would move to either the US or Russia to marry. Now he was personally putting Oksana in her wedding dress as she lay in the hospital mortuary.

Because of work, Yegor could not accompany the others to Russia. It was Oliana and Elena who boarded a ship with Oksana in her wedding dress.

The ship left the port in Donghae and traveled for 24 hours before arriving in Russia. It was not until the evening of Nov. 5 that Oksana’s remains arrived at her parents’ house in Spassk-Dalny.

Father Igor Kim, 56, and mother Anna Kim-Ju, 52, were still too distraught to describe their feelings when they first saw Oksana lying there in her wedding dress. The next day, hundreds of people visited them to express their condolences. Oksana’s friends shared their final goodbyes.

“You were an angel.”

“I’m going to miss you so much.”

The funeral of Oksana that took place in Russia. (courtesy of the deceased’s family)

Father Igor Kim later traveled to South Korea by himself and visited Itaewon. He wanted to see for himself the place where his youngest daughter had met her death.

As he came out of Exit 1 of Itaewon Station, Buddhist monks were sounding woodblocks. As he reached the alley beside Hamilton Hotel, he saw a familiar face: it was Oksana’s photograph, plastered on the alley’s wall. Kim stood there weeping for some time.

“Most of them were so young. It’s such a tragedy,” he explained while talking to the Hankyoreh via videoconference on Dec. 7.

“I know there were a lot of victims from here too. I’d like to express my condolences to their family members.”

In a message to his daughter, he said, “Oksana, I hope you take care of yourself wherever you are. I hope you’re always happy.”

Born in Russia on May 7, 1997, Oksana Kim died in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul on Oct. 30, 2022.

※ We would like to hear from other family members of Itaewon tragedy victims who have not had a chance to share their stories. Those interested can contact us via email (bonge@hani.co.kr) or by the Hankyoreh 21 reader response number (010-7510-2154).

By Ryu Seok-woo, Hankyoreh 21 staff writer

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]