The Construction of the Sampong Department Store

Sampong department store opened in 1990, the cherry on the cake of South Korea's new consumer culture. The building was initially meant to be an apartment block, but owner June Lee decided to change it into a department store during construction. This involved cutting corners when it comes to safety, including removing support columns and placing huge air conditioning units on the roof. On 29 June 1995, Sun Min, now 18 years old, was getting ready for her last day working at the store. She'd be thankful for that call for the rest of her life. As she was walking over, I suddenly heard huge explosions, and the building was collapsing behind me.