Itaewon Halloween 2026: Crowd Safety and What to Expect

On the night of October 29, 2022, 159 people died in a crowd crush in a narrow sloping alley next to the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, 26 of them foreign nationals. It happened on the Saturday night before Halloween, at a gathering with no organizer and no official crowd plan.

Everything about Halloween in Seoul since then has been shaped by that night. This guide covers what changed, what the city and police actually did in recent years, what to expect on Saturday, October 31, 2026, and how to have a good night without putting yourself or anyone else at risk.

What happened in Itaewon in 2022, and what changed?

Short answer: 159 people died in an unmanaged crowd, and the law was changed so that someone is always responsible for a crowd like that, even when there’s no organizer.

The death toll was revised to 159 by the 행정안전부 Ministry of the Interior and Safety in January 2023. The bereaved families’ council lists 196 people injured and 26 foreign victims. Investigations, trials and a special inquiry are still going on four years later.

📜 How the rules changed after 2022

In practice, the legal change is the one that matters most to you as a visitor. Halloween in Seoul is still not an official festival, and nobody sells tickets for it. But the district offices in Yongsan, Mapo, Seongdong and Gangnam are now legally on the hook for it. So they plan for it like an event: staff, barriers, control rooms and a clear decision ladder for when to close things.

What do Seoul and the police do around Halloween now?

Short answer: for about 10 days around October 31, Seoul, the police and district offices run joint control rooms, watch crowd density on CCTV, and step up controls as density rises, up to closing streets and having trains skip stations.

The 2025 operation is the best guide to 2026, because the plan has kept the same shape each year since 2023. Here’s what was announced for 2025.

Seoul’s 14 hotspots in 2025 were the Itaewon and Hongdae tourist zones, Seongsu Cafe Street, Konkuk University food street, Gangnam Station, Apgujeong Rodeo Street, Myeongdong, Ikseon-dong, Wangsimni Station, Sinchon’s Yonsei-ro, Balsan Station, Sillim Station, Sharosu-gil and Nonhyeon Station. Eight of them had joint on-site control rooms. The city’s toolkit, as listed in its own announcement, was people-counting CCTV, live congestion signs on major streets, more than 200 safety barriers in Hongdae alone, loudspeaker and siren announcements, and 긴급재난문자 emergency text alerts.

On top of the city’s staff, the police deployed 4,922 officers for the 2025 period and monitored 443 CCTV cameras, according to the Seoul Shinmun. They used one-way pedestrian routes in dense streets and phased road closures.

🗺️ What each district did in 2025 (from news reports)

Yongsan’s 4-stage crowd ladder

Itaewon has the most detailed public plan. According to the Hankyung, Yongsan-gu’s 2025 plan moved through four stages:

1. Walking normally — normal monitoring.
2. Walking caution — staff direct everyone to keep right.
3. Crowded — Itaewon Station exits are split: Exits 1 and 2 for going in, Exits 3 and 4 for coming out.
4. Very crowded — emergency text alerts, advice to leave the area, and a request for subway trains to skip the station.

What should I expect on Halloween 2026?

Short answer: expect the same system as 2025, a subdued Itaewon, and big crowds in Hongdae, with the peak probably spread over the whole weekend because October 31 is a Saturday.

As of September 27, 2026, Seoul, the police and Yongsan-gu have not published their 2026 Halloween plans. In recent years the city announcement came about a week before Halloween (October 24 in 2025). Based on the pattern since 2023, it’s reasonable to expect:

• A special management period starting around the weekend before Halloween and running into early November.
• Roughly the same hotspot list (Itaewon, Hongdae, Seongsu, Gangnam Station, Apgujeong, Myeongdong and others).
• Itaewon Station skipping stops if Itaewon hits “very crowded”. With Halloween on a Saturday this year and the 4th anniversary on Thursday, October 29, the mood in Itaewon is likely to be even more restrained.
• The heaviest crowds in Hongdae, from the Hongik Univ. Station area along the Red Road to the club street.

We’ll update this page when the 2026 plans are announced.

How do I stay safe in a Halloween crowd in Seoul?

Short answer: check crowd levels before you go, agree on a meeting point, keep right, stay off your phone while walking, and leave as soon as the crowd starts pressing on you. Those are the city’s own guidelines.

Check the crowd before you go

Seoul Real-time City Data (data.seoul.go.kr/SeoulRtd) shows live crowd levels for about 120 hotspots (the official guide lists 121). Population estimates update about every 5 minutes, on four levels: 여유 relaxed, 보통 normal, 약간 붐빔 slightly crowded and 붐빔 crowded. The site is in Korean, but the colors are easy to read, and the Hongdae and Itaewon tourist zones are both listed.

For alerts, Korea has sent key emergency text alerts (earthquake, terror threat, heavy rain) with English wording since February 28, 2024, and the government’s Emergency Ready App relays alerts for foreigners. On Halloween, district alerts about crowding may still arrive in Korean only, so if your phone buzzes with a loud alert near a hotspot, translate it.

A few things the official list doesn’t spell out but that matter on the night: avoid narrow, sloping alleys when they’re full; wear shoes you can move in; and if police or staff tell you a street is closed or one-way, go along with it. The controls are there because of what happened in 2022.

Emergency numbers

• 112 — police.
• 119 — fire and ambulance. Both work from any phone, including one with a foreign SIM. See our 119 and emergency room guide.
• 1330 — Korea Travel Hotline, for non-emergency help in English and other languages.

Costumes, drinking and getting home

Can I wear a police costume in Korea?

Short answer: don’t. Wearing a police uniform or something that looks like one is illegal for civilians, and police check for it at Halloween.

Under the Police Uniform and Equipment Act, a civilian who wears police uniforms or look-alikes can face up to 6 months in prison or a fine of up to ₩3,000,000, according to the Segye Ilbo and Edaily. Sellers face stiffer penalties. The rule got attention after 2022, when people in police costumes added to the confusion on the night. Military-style costumes can also get you in trouble: on October 29, 2023, a man in his 20s in a military uniform with a replica gun on Hongdae’s festival street was sent to summary trial, a fast-track court for minor offenses, and seven others were given warnings, according to the Seoul Shinmun. Skip the police, army and paramedic looks, and leave anything that looks like a real gun at home.

Drinking and noise

Rules on drinking outdoors depend on where you are, but whatever the rules say, a packed Halloween street is a bad place to be holding glass bottles. Our guide to Korea’s drinking rules covers what’s allowed where. The same weekend, Seoul sometimes has large rallies downtown; see protests in Korea if you’re also heading to Gwanghwamun.

Getting home

On weekends and holidays, Seoul’s last subway trains run earlier than on weekdays, roughly around midnight depending on the line and direction, so check the exact last train in Naver Map or Kakao Map before you go out. If a station is being skipped, walk to the next one (Noksapyeong or Hangangjin from Itaewon). Taxis are very hard to get near Hongdae after midnight; walking 10 to 15 minutes away from the crowd before calling one usually helps. If you’d rather not travel at all, staying nearby is the easy fix: see where to stay in Yongsan and Itaewon. For other changes that start around the same time, see what changes for travelers in November 2026.