Interior ministry puts 28 sites under Halloween crowd watch

The interior ministry said Friday that Interior Minister Youn Ho-jung inspected crowd-safety measures in Seoul's Hongdae tourist district a day before Halloween, as the government runs a 10-day special crowd-management period across 28 designated areas nationwide.

Youn visited Hongdae, which drew the country's largest Halloween crowd last year at about 105,000 people, to check preparations by district offices, police and fire services. The special period began Oct. 23 and runs through Nov. 1.

This year's Halloween falls on a weekend and is expected to draw bigger crowds than last year, the ministry said. The number of foreign tourists visiting Seoul in the first eight months of 2026 came to 11.56 million, up 2.05 million, or 21.6 percent, from 9.51 million in the same period a year earlier. Events organized by clubs and merchants' associations in Hongdae are also expected to add to the turnout.

In Hongdae, the Mapo district office will run a joint situation room through Nov. 1 and deploy about 300 safety personnel. The district plans to install movable safety fences in priority zones such as the club street to secure two-way walking paths and direct traffic to the right side.

Police planned vehicle controls and access routes for ambulances, while fire services outlined measures for transporting patients. Youn walked the club street and the Red Road area, checking slopes, alleys and entrances for blind spots, bottlenecks and obstacles blocking pedestrians. He tested an artificial intelligence crowd-density analysis system that issues warning messages and public announcements as density rises, and demonstrated an emergency bell to confirm it connects to the control center.

Youn asked officials to prevent bottlenecks in advance and to impose controls immediately if crowds become excessively dense, citing the expected rise in visitors. He also stressed preparations so that foreign nationals can use emergency bells without communication difficulties, and called for close coordination between on-site management and the agencies involved.

The ministry said it has sent advance inspection teams to 12 areas expected to see large gatherings, and will dispatch senior officials to the sites from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 to monitor crowds until they disperse.

"The government will work with the relevant agencies to do everything it can on safety management so that the public can enjoy Halloween safely," Youn said. "I also ask the public to keep order by following the guidance of on-site safety personnel and to familiarize themselves with the safety guidelines for crowd accidents."