Too many trainers: Seoul’s Pokemon event canceled due to large crowd

Participants of the Pokémon Mega Festa passes through Seoul Forest, Friday. The event shut down after a larger than expected crowd came. Captured from Younglee's X account

A notice from Pokémon Korea saying it canceled its event due to safety concerns over large crowds / Captured from Pokémon Korea's X acount

A free Pokémon card giveaway at Seoul Forest was canceled Friday after an estimated 40,000 people flooded the Seongsu-dong area by noon, overwhelming the venue and prompting safety concerns on Korea's first Labor Day as an official public holiday.

Pokémon Korea posted a notice on its social media channels announcing the cancellation of the on-site giveaway, which had been organized as part of its 30th-anniversary celebration "Pokemon Mega Festa" alongside the Seoul International Garden Show.

"The giveaway event promo card 'Magikarp' has been canceled due to on-site safety concerns," the notice read, adding that applications would instead be accepted later through an online form. "Everyone who met the event conditions today will receive the items, so please feel free to leave the event."

The Seoul city government is reported to have requested the cancellation.

The event had offered a rare promotional Magikarp card, one of the franchise’s characters, along with a themed sun visor in exchange for collecting stamps across the area.

The combination of a national holiday, a rare collectible and its resale value appear to have driven the turnout far beyond expectations.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, the card was listed for resale at 286,000 won ($194) on Kream, an online resale platform.

On social media, many users documented the chaos, posting about the difficulties they experienced because of the massive crowd.

One user wrote, “The internet is not working,” while posting photos of people packing the Seongsu-dong and Seoul Forest area.

Another user wrote, “One Pokemon card paralyzed Seoul Forest … This free Magikarp card is worth 90,000 won in Korea and up to 150,000 won overseas.”