A survey in the city of Seoul found that 6 out of 10 Seoul citizens aged 18 or older were ‘opposed’ to the ‘Halloween Disaster’ incense burner placed in Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall or the relocation plan to Gwanghwamun Square.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 10th that this was the result of a survey on the 9th asking ‘opinions for and against placing a memorial altar for the Itaewon disaster in Gwanghwamun Square or Seoul Plaza’.
The survey was conducted via an automated answering machine (ARS) targeting 1,007 people aged 18 or over. The survey agency is a real gauge, and the sampling error is ±3.1% points at the 95% confidence level.
37.7% supported the installation of the incense burner, and 60.4% opposed it. It was 22.7 percentage points more than the positive responses. In addition, 1.9% answered “I don’t know”.
According to gender, the proportion of women who opposed the installation of an incense burner was high. Among 524 women, 35.8% supported and 61.7% opposed. On the other hand, among 483 males, 39.8% were in favor and 59.0% against, although there was a lot of opposition, but the gap between the pros and cons was rather small.
In terms of age, only those in their 40s were more in favor of installing the incense burner than opposed. Of the 176 people in their 40s, 53.9% were in favor and 44.6% against it.
People in their 50s had more discordant views than those in favour, but the gap was the smallest compared to other generations. Among 180 people in their 50s, 47.5% were in favor and 51.0% against.
The generation with the highest rate of opposition to installing an incense burner was in their 30s, with 72.2% expressing their disapproval. Among 174 respondents in their 30s, 23.7% agreed, which is also the lowest among all generations.
On the other hand, when the Seoul area was divided into 4 districts, including Gangbuk-West, Gangbuk-Dong, Gangnam-West, and Gangnam-Dong, based on the direction of the Han River, the opposition to the layout was higher than approval in each region.
In the districts of Gangbuk-West, Gangbuk-Dong, and Gangnam-West, the opposition rate was 61-62.7%. However, in the Gangnam-dong area, the disapproval rate was relatively low at 56.8%, while the approval rate was the highest at 42.2%. The Gangnam-dong area includes Songpa-gu, Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, and Gangdong-gu.
