Costumes, drug scare and tributes to victims mark Halloween weekend in Seoul

SEOUL – Nearly 160,000 people gathered in the Seoul party districts of Itaewon and Hongdae over Halloween weekend, with no major safety incidents reported as of the morning of Nov 1.Halloween falling on a weekend in 2026 prompted safety authorities to heighten their alert, as larger crowds were expected to gather than over previous years. The occasion came four years after a crowd crush in Itaewon on Oct 29, 2022, which killed 159 people.According to Seoul Real-time City Data, an estimated 120,000-125,000 people were in Hongdae’s tourism district in western Seoul at 9pm on Oct 31, including several wearing elaborate costumes and many more who gathered to watch them.In Itaewon in central Seoul, the number reached some 30,000-32,000 at the same time, bringing the combined figure for the two areas to as many as 157,000.The numbers were reportedly more than double the average in each of the districts for the previous 28 days.In some areas, dense crowds slowed pedestrian movement on the evening of Oct 31. Police officers guided people to keep moving, separated pedestrian flows in opposite directions and installed barricades to prevent congestion.To limit the number of people entering the crowded area, Seoul Metro Line 6 trains skipped Itaewon Station from 11.47pm until the end of service.Authorities also took earlier measures to secure pedestrian space. Traffic on the main road through Itaewon was restricted from 6pm, compared with 10.40pm in 2025, when the decision was made after authorities assessed crowd levels following the arrival of partygoers.As of the morning of Nov 1, no major incidents had been reported in the party districts, with only minor cases involving intoxicated people and altercations.Meanwhile, claims circulated on social media that a man wearing a mask of an owl character from a language-learning app was handing out candies suspected of containing psychotropic substances.Several social media accounts claimed that their friends had experienced unusual symptoms after receiving the candy. Police found no suspicious substances in the candy after apprehending the man and closed the case, determining that the reports stemmed from a misunderstanding.Some visitors also gathered in Itaewon to pay tribute to the victims of the 2022 disaster. Several groups held a memorial ceremony at Noksapyeong Station Square near the district from 9pm and marched through an alley in Itaewon at around 11pm.Crowds thinned after midnight. Just after midnight on Nov 1, the estimated number of visitors in Hongdae had fallen to 86,000 to 88,000, while Itaewon continued to record 30,000 to 32,000 people. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK