Anne Gieske and Steven Blesi were identified as the two U.S. nationals among the dead after a Halloween stampede killed more than 150 people in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood on Saturday.
Blesi was a Kennesaw State University junior, and just two months into a study abroad program in South Korea. He had reportedly long-dreamed of attending school in the eastern country, but was delayed for a couple of years while the pandemic minimized international travel, according to The Washington Post. The Georgia native finally realized the milestone in August, when he hopped aboard a plane from Atlanta to Seoul. He had a passion for international business and aspired to be multilingual and work in East Asia.
“It was like it stabbed like a hundred million times simultaneously,” Blesi’s father, Steve, told The New York Times. “It was like your world just collapsing. It was numb and devastating all at the same time.”
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Blesi was attending the traditional festivities in all black, sans costume, according to his father.
“I texted him maybe a half-hour before all this happened, and I said, ‘I know you’re out and about. Be safe,’” Steve Blesi told the outlet. “I never got a reply to that.”
Gieske, a 20-year-old University of Kentucky nursing student, had just celebrated her birthday on Oct. 28 in South Korea’s capital city, days before the incident. She was also studying abroad, along with two other students and a faculty member. They were confirmed to be safe, according to a statement by the university president, Eli Capilouto.
“The University of Kentucky community is grieving the tragic loss of one of our students, Anne Gieske, who was studying abroad in Seoul, South Korea, and was killed in this weekend’s tragedy,” wrote Capilouto. “We have been in contact with her family and will provide whatever support we can—now and in the days ahead—as they cope with this indescribable loss.” (The Daily Beast reached out to both families for comment.)
More than 20 foreign nationals from 10 different countries were involved in the horrific crush Saturday night, when 100,000 people celebrated the holiday in the district. The majority of those killed were in their 20s and 30s.
“Jill and I are devastated to learn that at least two Americans are among so many who lost their lives in Seoul,” Biden said on Sunday. “Our hearts go out to their loved ones in this time of grief, and we continue to pray for the recovery of all who were injured.”
