Bereaved families in South Korea are demanding that the makers of Call of Duty remove real footage of the 2022 Seoul crowd crush from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, saying harrowing scenes of rescuers performing CPR and victims lying in the street were used to create a moment in a game.
The seconds-long clips appear in the opening moments of the game and are used to represent civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion. One shows a figure performing CPR on a victim lying in the street; another shows rows of bodies laid out on the road and a victim being carried away on a stretcher.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the bereaved families' council and a coalition of civic groups said: "We are appalled that the chaotic and desperate scenes, in which countless citizens performed CPR to save one another and victims lay on the cold street, were used exactly as they were to create a scene in a game." They said people who took part in the rescue or witnessed the crush were still living with trauma, and that hateful comments about the victims were spreading online in connection with the game's premise.
The demand comes as South Korea marks the fourth anniversary of the crush on Thursday. A total of 158 people were killed in a narrow alley in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district during the Halloween weekend in 2022. Two more people have since been recognised as victims, having died from trauma caused by the disaster.
Activision, the game's publisher, told the Yonhap news agency that "some actual news footage included in the game's opening cinematic was utilised as an element to convey the fictional story within the work." The publisher added: "We had absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy."
Players in South Korea identified the clip after the game's release, and Korean broadcasters have compared it side by side with footage filmed on the night of the crowd crush. The Korean Game Users Association has called for an apology and for the footage to be replaced.
Modern Warfare 4 follows a South Korean marine private fighting a North Korean invasion through recognisable Korean streets. The title had already become a political talking point before its release, with conservative politicians urging President Lee Jae Myung, who is pursuing a more conciliatory approach towards North Korea, to play the game to understand what they described as the threat from Pyongyang. It topped South Korea's sales chart on Steam, the leading PC gaming platform, within days of its release.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The footage places a real national tragedy, one that killed 158 people and traumatised rescuers and witnesses, inside a commercial entertainment product.
- How Activision responds to the demand will set a precedent for whether major game releases can draw on real disaster footage, particularly while the anniversary is being marked.
- The dispute has also become entangled in South Korean politics, where the game's North Korea storyline was already being used to pressure the president over his approach to Pyongyang.
Background
The Itaewon crowd crush happened on Halloween weekend in 2022, when a crowd surge in a narrow alley in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district killed 158 people. Two more people have since been recognised as victims, having died from trauma caused by the disaster. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the latest instalment of the war game franchise published by Activision, and its campaign is set in recognisable Korean streets during a fictional North Korean invasion. Its opening cinematic uses real news broadcast footage of the crush, which players identified after the game's release.
Key Perspectives
- Bereaved families' council and coalition of civic groups: say they are appalled that the chaotic and desperate rescue scenes were used "exactly as they were" to create a scene in a game, and demand the footage be removed.
- Activision: says some actual news footage was used as an element to convey the fictional story, and that it had absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy.
- Korean Game Users Association: has called for an apology and for the footage to be replaced.
- Conservative politicians in South Korea: urged President Lee Jae Myung to play the game to understand what they described as the threat from Pyongyang.
What to Watch
- Whether Activision removes or replaces the clips, as the bereaved families and the Korean Game Users Association have demanded.
- How public and political reaction develops around Thursday's fourth anniversary of the crush.
- Whether the controversy intensifies the existing political debate over the game's North Korea storyline.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- Partly supportedThe bereaved families’ council and civic groups said that scenes were used “exactly as they were to create a moment in a game.”World news | The Guardian: ““We are appalled that the chaotic and desperate scenes, in which countless citizens performed CPR to save one another and victims lay on the cold street, were used exactly as they were to create a scene in a game,””
- SupportedThe game uses real footage of the Itaewon crowd crush, prompting outcry in South Korea.World news | The Guardian: “Outcry after Call of Duty maker uses real footage of deadly Seoul crowd crush in new video game.”
- SupportedBereaved families in South Korea are demanding that the game’s makers remove the footage.World news | The Guardian: “Bereaved families in South Korea have demanded that the makers of Call of Duty remove harrowing footage of the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush from the latest instalment of the video game.”
- SupportedThe seconds-long clips appear in the game’s opening and represent civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion.World news | The Guardian: “The clips , which are seconds-long, appear in the opening moments of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 , and are used to represent a scenario of civilian casualties during a fictional North Korean invasion.”
- SupportedThe clips show a figure performing CPR, rows of bodies, and a victim being carried away on a stretcher.World news | The Guardian: “One shows a scene of chaos with a figure performing CPR on a victim lying in the street. Another shows rows of bodies laid out in the road, and a victim being carried away on a stretcher.”
- SupportedA total of 158 people were killed in the Itaewon crowd crush.World news | The Guardian: “A total of 158 people were killed in a narrow alley in Seoul’s Itaewon nightlife district during the Halloween weekend in 2022.”
- SupportedTwo more people have since been recognised as victims after dying from trauma caused by the disaster.World news | The Guardian: “Two more have since been recognised as victims, having died from trauma caused by the disaster.”
- SupportedSouth Korea marks the fourth anniversary of the crush on Thursday.World news | The Guardian: “The demand comes as the country marks the fourth anniversary of the crush on Thursday .”
- SupportedThe families’ council and civic groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the scenes were used to create a scene in a game.World news | The Guardian: “the bereaved families’ council and a coalition of civic groups said in a joint statement on Wednesday, demanding that the footage be removed.”
- SupportedThe groups said people involved in the rescue or who witnessed the crush still lived with trauma, and hateful comments about victims were spreading online in connection with the game’s premise.World news | The Guardian: “They said people who had taken part in the rescue or witnessed the crush were still living with trauma, while hateful comments about the victims were spreading online in connection with the game’s premise.”
- SupportedActivision told Yonhap that actual news footage was included in the game’s opening cinematic to convey its fictional story.World news | The Guardian: “Activision, the game’s publisher, told the Yonhap news agency that “some actual news footage included in the game’s opening cinematic was utilised as an element to convey the fictional story within the work.””
- SupportedActivision said it had no intention of treating actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy, lightly.World news | The Guardian: “They added, “We had absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy.””