One year to South Korea Halloween Crush; Locals still remember the deadly night

Seoul: A year after 159 Halloween revellers died in a crowd in the bustling night life district of Itaewon in Seoul of South Korea, the district stood somber and quiet on the day of Halloween.The district’s alleys, those are usually adorned with seasonal decorations, were instead filled with posters and flowers dedicated to the memory of the deceased. At the same time, the young generation chose to celebrate Halloween festivities in other parts of the city.The tragic crowd surge that occurred last year resulted in a devastating crush in a narrow alley in Itaewon, a disaster that many Seoul residents attributed to a lack of preparation and crowd control measures, with early pleas for assistance going unanswered. Most of the victims were in their 20s and 30s.This year, gatherings id not banned in Itaewon for Halloween. Authorities and police conducted crowd-control drills, utilizing an AI-backed network of nearly 1,000 closed-circuit TV cameras in preparation for the first anniversary of the disaster.Despite the events of the previous year, many people sought alternative locations to join Halloween celebrations, such as Hongdae, another popular spot among the younger crowd.The tragedy in Itaewon served as a reminder for a nation that still bears the scars of the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, which claimed the lives of 304 people, including 250 students on a school trip.