LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Loved ones are raising money to retrace the steps of Anne Gieske, a University of Kentucky student who died 3 years ago in South Korea.
"She lit up the room, she was so pure and genuine and authentic, and I just want to spread some of her love," said Gieske's cousin, Isabelle Chapman.
Gieske was killed in a stampede in Itaewon, South Korea, in 2022, just a few days after her 20th birthday. She was studying nursing.
"She was in Korean club at UK and she had a lot of admiration for the culture and respect for it," said Chapman, "While she was there, she was having the time of her life, she would call us every day."
On October 29, it will be three years since the crowd surge that killed Anne and 149 other people. Chapman, three other cousins, and Anne's older sister are fundraising to get to Korea for the memorial.
"It's weird, it's like we heard about it, we got the invitation from our aunt and uncle and parents, and I just knew I had to go," said Chapman. "We wanted to walk in her footsteps all the places she went and the last places she was because we knew it had brought her so much joy."
Chapman says community support would help get them there.
"I just hope like we can spread some of Anne's positivity, obviously this is a horrible thing that happened, but anything afterwards that can be some kind of good would be amazing," said Chapman.
The GoFundMe can be found here.
