User:Mandsford/1974 Daewang Corner Fire



The Daewang Corner fire occurred in Seoul, South Korea, on November 3, 1974 and killed 88 people at Daewang Corner, a shopping complex and hotel located at 620-69 Jeonnong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu. Most of the persons killed were customers at the "Time Go-Go Club", a night club on the sixth floor of the Brown Hotel.According to witnesses who were able to escape immediately, employees of the club closed the only exit door to prevent other customers from leaving without paying.

The fire was initially attributed to a careless cigarette smoker but later traced to a light fixture in front of Room 618 at the hotel

The blaze quickly spread through the sixth and seventh floor of the building. The first emergency call to the Dongdaemun Fire Station came at 2:40 in the morning. There was only one door into and out of the night club, and employees of the club locked the door to prevent people from leaving without paying.

Another 13 people had been trapped in their hotel rooms on the seventh floor, and six of them had jumped to their deaths. The site of the fire is now occupied by the Lotte Department Store at 200 Wangsan-ro in Seoul.