Seoul stampede: Who was Anne Gieske, US student who died during Halloween festivities?

A University of Kentucky nursing student was one of two Americans who died when a crowd stampeded onto a narrow street during a Halloween celebration in South Korea on Saturday.

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Anne Gieske, who turned 20 on Friday, was among the thousands of people in the Itaewon leisure district of Seoul, WCPO-TV reported. It was the first time in three years that there had been a live Halloween party due to COVID-19 restrictions.

What should have been a fun evening turned into what witnesses called a “hell-like chaos” after 153 people died and more than 100 were injured from being crushed on a street near the Hamilton Hotel in the city’s Itaewon leisure district.

Gieske, a junior a 2020 graduate of Beechwood High School in her hometown of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, was studying abroad in South Korea with an education abroad program, UK President Eli Capilouto said in a news release on Sunday. Gieske’s last Instagram post showed the smiling student celebrating her birthday with a large cake by the Han River.

“There aren’t adequate or appropriate words to describe the pain of a beautiful life cut short,” Capilouto said in a statement. “It isn’t fair, nor is it comprehensible. It is loss and it hurts in ways that are impossible to articulate.

Capilouto added that university officials have also been in contact with Gieske’s family, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

“We will provide whatever support we can -- now and in the days ahead -- as they cope with this indescribable loss,” he wrote.

Choi Cheon-sik, an official with South Korea’s National Fire Agency, said the crowd began pushing near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party venue in Seoul, according to The Associated Press.

The Itaewon district in Seoul is noted for its narrow streets and alleys teeming with bars and other businesses, the BBC reported. The area has been featured in several K-dramas and K-pop songs, such as “Itaewon Class,” which appeared on Netflix in 2020, according to the news outlet.

Gieske was a member of Beechwood High School’s marching band from 2015 to 2020, WPCO reported. She also volunteered with the school’s Marching Tigers ensemble during the summer of 2022, Principal Justin Kaiser said.

As a volunteer, Gieske worked with the high school’s drum majors and clarinet players, according to the television station.

Capilouto said the university had two other students and a faculty member who were in South Korea, WCPO reported. All three have been contacted and have been confirmed to be safe, according to the television station.

“We will be there for those in our community who knew and loved Anne. We also have nearly 80 students from South Korea at UK -- members of our community -- who will need our support,” Capilouto said in a statement.

Kaiser contacted parents and Fort Mitchell residents in a statement to tell them about Gieske’s death, according to WCPO. Fort Mitchell, located in northern Kentucky, is about six miles southwest of Cincinnati.

“I am informing you, as parents/guardians, that some of your children may be affected by this devastating news,” Kaiser said.

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