Project description:

Seoul crowd crush was hours in the making, witness accounts and call transcripts show, leaving police facing questions over slow response. This illustrated, data-driven account of the tragedy was pieced together from the testimony of more than 15 witnesses, police transcripts, visual evidence and open-source material shared on social media that was verified by Reuters.

Impact reached:

This is an incredibly detailed and harrowing account with striking illustrations and data that was turned around very quickly as people clamored for answers. This account of the tragedy was pieced together from the testimony of more than 15 witnesses, police transcripts, visual evidence and open-source material shared on social media that was verified by Reuters. Some of those who spoke to Reuters did so on the condition of full or partial anonymity, citing personal trauma or privacy reasons.

Techniques/technologies used:

The project uses custom javascript (including svelte and d3), scss and html. It also has hand made illustrations, original photography, video and 3d models.

Context about the project:

This is an incredibly detailed and harrowing account with striking illustrations and data that was turned around very quickly as people clamored for answers. This account of the tragedy was pieced together from the testimony of more than 15 witnesses, police transcripts, visual evidence and open-source material shared on social media that was verified by Reuters. Some of those who spoke to Reuters did so on the condition of full or partial anonymity, citing personal trauma or privacy reasons.

What can other journalists learn from this project?

Important, investigative pieces can be told through hand-done illustration and simple but striking charts. Often when urban design plays a central role in a catastrophe, text alone cannot explain what occured and why.

Project links:

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/SOUTHKOREA-STAMPEDE/CHRONOLOGY/zjvqjqmmlpx/index.html