18-year-old Japanese identified among victims of Seoul crowd surge, grandfather devastated

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:24 JST, November 1, 2022

An Kozuchi, an 18-year-old woman from Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, is believed to be one of the two Japanese women killed in Saturday’s crowd surge in the Itaewon district of Seoul. Kozuchi was a student studying in South Korea.

“I’m just so upset,” her grandfather told reporters through the intercom at his home in Kawaguchi on Monday. “My heart is breaking.”

Kozuchi went to South Korea in August. When they spoke later, he said she sounded happy and said: “I’m working hard. I want to eat sushi.”

“She was a wonderful granddaughter,” he said, getting choked up. “Before she left, I told her to study hard. I can’t believe something like this could happen.”