Families Demand Removal of Real Itaewon Tragedy Footage from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4
South Korean bereaved families are calling on Activision to pull real‑life footage of the 2022 Seoul crowd crush from the new Call of Duty game.
Bereaved families in South Korea have asked the publisher of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to delete a short clip that shows a figure performing CPR and bodies lying in the street.
The seconds‑long footage appears in the opening moments of the game and is presented as part of a fictional North Korean invasion scenario.
One segment shows chaos with a person administering CPR to a victim on the street; another displays rows of bodies and a victim being carried on a stretcher.
The scenes are taken from the deadly 2022 Seoul crowd crush in Itaewon, where 158 people died during the Halloween weekend, with two additional victims later recognized after succumbing to trauma.
In a joint statement released on Wednesday, a council of bereaved families and a coalition of civic groups demanded the removal of the footage, saying the images of desperate rescue attempts and victims on the cold street were used exactly as they were in the game.
They noted that rescuers and witnesses continue to suffer trauma, and that hateful comments about the victims are spreading online in connection with the game’s premise.
Activision told 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 company added that it had “absolutely no intention of mentioning or treating lightly any actual tragic events, including the Itaewon tragedy.”
The Guardian has reached out to Activision for comment.
The demand comes as South Korea marks the fourth anniversary of the crush on Thursday.
South Korean players identified the clip after the game’s release, and local broadcasters have compared it side‑by‑side with footage filmed on the night of the disaster.
The Korean Game Users Association called for an apology and for the footage to be replaced.
Modern Warfare 4 follows a South Korean marine private battling a North Korean invasion through recognizable Korean streets.
Prior to its release, the title had already become a political talking point, with conservative politicians urging President Lee Jae‑Myung to play the game to understand the threat they describe from Pyongyang.
The controversy highlights the sensitivity surrounding the use of real tragedy footage in entertainment media.
