Special safety period runs Oct. 23–Nov. 1
165,000 visitors expected in Itaewon area; real-time crowd analysis and four-tier congestion response in place
Seoul's Yongsan-gu will deploy more than 2,550 crowd-management personnel from the district office, police and fire department ahead of Halloween, using real-time crowd data to get ahead of congestion in the Itaewon area.
The district has designated Oct. 23 through Nov. 1 as a special Halloween safety period. Halloween itself falls on a Saturday this year. Based on visitor trends over the past three years, the district expects about 165,000 people to visit the Itaewon area — including the World Food Culture Street and Quinon-gil — during the 10-day period.
Since September, Yongsan-gu has held three coordination meetings with the Yongsan Police Station, Yongsan Fire Station, Seoul Metro, the 3537th Army Unit and the Itaewon Merchants Service Corps to finalize the safety plan. A joint operations center will be set up near the World Food Culture Street throughout the special period.
Deployed personnel will be assigned to specific roles covering fire prevention, safety and order, traffic management, counter-terrorism and crime response, emergency medical services, facility inspections and cleanup.
The centerpiece of this year's plan is a four-tier congestion response system driven by real-time crowd data. The district has refined its congestion thresholds using data accumulated last year, drawing on feeds from intelligent CCTV cameras, the Yongsan real-time smart map and passenger exit counts at Itaewon Station.
Seoul's real-time urban data platform will also be used to monitor crowd conditions across the broader Itaewon tourism zone, alongside the Ministry of Interior and Safety's mass-gathering alert system. When a danger alert is triggered, operators will immediately verify conditions via CCTV and respond accordingly.
Monitoring capabilities at the disaster safety operations center and integrated control center will be strengthened, with focused surveillance on areas beyond the Itaewon tourism zone — including Haebangchon, Gyeongnidan-gil and Yongnidan-gil — where large crowds are also expected. From Oct. 12 through Oct. 22, crews will inspect the operational status of 218 cameras and 49 emergency call buttons installed at 59 locations in the Itaewon area, as well as their links to the control center.
On-site response capacity will also be reinforced. Starting Oct. 30 — the Halloween weekend — a disaster command bus will be stationed in the area to support information sharing and coordinated response in the event of an emergency.
Since Oct. 12, the district has been conducting intensive crackdowns on illegally parked vehicles and objects left on roads. On Wednesday, a joint on-site inspection by relevant agencies will aim to eliminate hazards in advance. Electronic displays, banners and digital bulletin boards in major crowd zones will carry public safety messaging encouraging visitors to have a safe Halloween.
"Nothing comes before the safety of our residents and visitors," Yongsan-gu District Mayor Kim Kyung-dae said. "We will work closely with all relevant agencies to ensure airtight safety management through the very last day." He also asked visitors to cooperate with on-site guidance and crowd-control measures to help make Halloween safe for everyone.
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