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

Nearly 160,000 people gathered in Seoul’s major party districts, Itaewon and Hongdae, during Halloween weekend. Hongdae attracted the larger crowd, with about 120,000 to 125,000 visitors at 9 p.m. Saturday. Itaewon had about 30,000 to 32,000. The gathering mattered because Halloween fell on a weekend, increasing expectations of heavy crowds four years after Itaewon’s deadly 2022 crowd crush.

Dense pedestrian traffic slowed movement in some places. Police directed people to keep moving, separated flows traveling in opposite directions and placed barricades to limit congestion. Seoul Metro also skipped Itaewon Station on Line 6 late at night, reducing the number of people entering the busiest area.

By Sunday morning, authorities reported no major safety incidents. Only minor cases involving intoxicated people and altercations were reported. Crowds thinned after midnight in Hongdae, while Itaewon still held roughly 30,000 to 32,000 visitors.

Seoul’s Itaewon and Hongdae districts reached a combined estimate of as many as 157,000 people at 9 p.m. Saturday. Hongdae, in western Seoul, held about 120,000 to 125,000 visitors. Itaewon, in central Seoul, held approximately 30,000 to 32,000. These figures show how strongly Halloween weekend drew people into the two entertainment areas.

The reported totals were more than double the average crowd in each district during the previous 28 days. Hongdae’s total included people wearing elaborate costumes and many others who gathered to watch them. Itaewon’s crowd was smaller but remained substantial, especially given the district’s history of a deadly crowd crush in 2022.

After midnight, Hongdae’s estimated crowd fell to 86,000 to 88,000. Itaewon remained at about 30,000 to 32,000. The numbers explain why authorities increased alerts and introduced measures to manage entrances, movement and road space.

A crowd crush is a dangerous situation in which people are packed tightly together and lose the space needed to move safely. Pressure can spread through the crowd, forcing people against one another or preventing them from escaping. The article connects this risk to Seoul’s 2022 Itaewon disaster, a crowd crush that killed 159 people on October 29.

That tragedy shaped this year’s planning because Halloween fell on a weekend, when larger crowds were expected than in previous years. Authorities therefore raised their safety alert and acted earlier than before. Traffic on Itaewon’s main road was restricted from 6 p.m., rather than 10:40 p.m. last year, when restrictions followed an assessment of crowd levels.

The 2026 weekend ended without a major reported incident in the party districts. Still, the large numbers and slowed pedestrian movement showed why the earlier response mattered. Crowd monitoring, controlled access and protected walking space remained central to preventing a repeat disaster.

Police, city officials and Seoul Metro used several measures to prevent dangerous congestion. Police guided pedestrians to keep moving, separated people traveling in opposite directions and installed barricades. These actions helped preserve walking space when dense crowds slowed movement on Saturday evening.

City officials restricted traffic on Itaewon’s main road from 6 p.m. This was much earlier than the previous year, when the road restriction began at 10:40 p.m. after authorities assessed crowd levels. Seoul Metro also prevented additional passengers from entering the busiest area by having Line 6 trains skip Itaewon Station from 11:47 p.m. until the end of service.

Together, these steps managed both movement inside the crowd and the flow of people arriving. Early road restrictions created more pedestrian space. Police guidance and barriers organized movement. The station bypass limited fresh arrivals, supporting the goal of avoiding dangerous crowd buildup during the busiest hours.

The memorial gatherings honored victims of the Itaewon disaster on October 29, 2022. That crowd crush killed 159 people, making it a significant part of the district’s Halloween weekend. Some visitors therefore came not only for the festivities, but also to remember those who died.

Several groups held a memorial ceremony at Noksapyeong Station Square near Itaewon from 9 p.m. They later marched through an alley in Itaewon at around 11 p.m. These events took place alongside the much larger Halloween crowds in the district.

The memorials gave the weekend a solemn dimension. Itaewon was both a busy party area and a place of remembrance. The ceremonies also kept attention on safety, as authorities managed current crowds four years after the disaster that had made crowd planning especially urgent.

The candy scare began with social media claims about a man wearing a mask of an owl character from a language-learning app. Several accounts said he had handed out candies suspected of containing psychotropic substances. They also claimed that friends who received the candy later experienced unusual symptoms.

Police apprehended the man and examined the candy. They found no suspicious substances in it. Because the evidence did not support the online claims, police closed the case and determined that the reports resulted from a misunderstanding.

The episode shows how quickly an alarming claim can circulate during a crowded public event. In this case, the reported symptoms and suspicions did not lead to confirmation of contaminated candy. By Sunday morning, the article reported the candy case as resolved, while authorities continued monitoring the districts for other safety problems.

Very dense pedestrian crowds can become dangerous because people have less room to move, stop or change direction. If movement slows, pressure can build between bodies, while blocked routes make it harder to leave or respond to trouble. A crowd may therefore pose a serious risk even when no major incident has yet occurred.

Seoul’s response addressed these problems directly. Police kept pedestrians moving, separated flows traveling in opposite directions and installed barricades. Officials restricted traffic on Itaewon’s main road from 6 p.m., creating more space for pedestrians. Line 6 trains skipped Itaewon Station from 11:47 p.m., limiting new arrivals.

These measures reduce risk by organizing movement and controlling crowd growth. The weekend’s outcome suggests the measures helped: no major incident was reported by Sunday morning. However, dense crowds still slowed movement, showing why monitoring and early intervention remain important whenever large gatherings are expected.