Where to celebrate Halloween in Korea

Halloween decorations are on sale in Namdaemun Market, Oct. 14. / Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

By Jon Dunbar and Chantal Terblanche

Halloween is no longer a holiday celebrated primarily by foreign nationals in Korea. Decorations go up all over the place, including at convenience stores, traditional markets and medical clinics. That said, an adult wearing a costume will probably still look out of place in most parts of the country outside of three big areas for nightlife in Seoul ― Hongdae, Itaewon and Gangnam ― where you can expect to see hordes of revelers roaming the streets. Events for Halloween this year are plentiful, although many are already filling up with RSVPs.

Where to find costumes?

Shopping for costumes can be done online, but considering that Halloween weekend is coming up this weekend, selection might be limited based on delivery dates.

It might be safer to visit a costume store in person before it's too late. Shops specializing in party favors can be found throughout the city, and they probably do the most business during this time of year. One helpful place to visit in Seoul is Dongdaemun Stationery Store Street, which, despite its name referring to stationery, is filled with toy stores, many of which stock costume supplies for both children and adults, as well as Halloween decorations. If that's not convenient to you, joyparty has stores across the country, including in Hongdae and Gangnam in Seoul, as well as at Goyang Starfield in Gyeonggi Province, and in Daejeon and Incheon as well.

A crowded alley in Itaewon last year on Oct. 30 / Yonhap News

Halloween events

The Dark Side of Seoul offers its Ghost Walk this Saturday, Sunday and next Monday, walking participants through some of the less-talked-about but highly intriguing histories of downtown Seoul. Tours start after dark at 8 p.m. Visit darksideofseoul.com for more information and to register.

For those who want to do less walking, The Dice Latte hosts two days of Halloween weekend games. The roleplaying and board game cafe will offer up its extensive collection of horror-themed games as well as prizes for people wearing costumes. On Sunday, the operators of Dark Side of Seoul will show up to add to the fun. Visit @thedicelatte on Instagram for more information.

Vineworks Book and Wine Club is hosting a special Halloween event on Sunday, focusing on Bram Stoker's "Dracula." Visit fb.com/vineworkskorea for more information.

The private meditation lounge Metta is offering a Halloween Yoga Party starting Friday morning. It will feature a rooftop yoga session with "spooky Halloween yoga poses," followed by a singing bowl meditation session and a special brunch featuring vegan food from Vivi's Veggie. Visit fb.com/vivisveggie for more information.

Seoul City Improv is running "The Return of Murderton," an improvised murder mystery guided by suggestions from the audience. Attendees are recommended to bring their own booze. Visit fb.com/SeoulCityImprov for more information.

Seoul Players is running its "Rocky Horror Picture Show Shadow Cast" three times this weekend at NVM in Hongdae. Live actors will perform, dance and lip-sync along with the film, which will play on the wall behind them. This is the 10th year of the event here. Tickets are only available at the door and often sell out. Visit fb.com/SeoulPlayers for more information.

Of course there are plenty of drag events this weekend.

Crash Landed Seoul has a Drag Chapel event happening in Rabbithole Arcade Pub on Saturday. There will be a costume contest and a viewing party for "Dragula Titans." Visit Instagram @crashlandedseoul or @rabbithole_arcade_pub for more information.

Pocket Seoul in HBC hosts Halloween-themed trivia nights. On Friday there's a casino-themed trivia event, and on Sunday Sh'Needza Woman and Tyler Noll present the "Drag Me to Trivia" night featuring drag- and horror-themed questions. Visit Instagram @pocketseoul for more information.

All Shook Up Bar in Seoul's Haebangchon is offering Joseon Spirits Night, a party aiming to give Halloween a distinctly Korean vibe. The event will include traditional Korean shamanistic ceremonies, reenactments of horror folk tales and traditional music.

Alleyway Taphouse in Suwon is holding a free costume party on Saturday, with live music and prizes including a 100,000-won bar tab. Visit fb.com/alleywaytaphouse for more information.

There's no shortage of live music in Seoul this weekend.

The Studio HBC has a full schedule of events on Saturday, starting with pro wrestling at 5 p.m. accompanied by the band, Get Better. Starting at 8 p.m., bands Hidden Elephant, Shirts Boy Frank, GIOK, Varim and Excused Duty will play. After midnight is "Gametime!" with hip-hop and DJs. Visit fb.com/thestudioHBC for more information.

A short way downhill, Phillies Basement is holding a gig with Singularity, Incestrul Lust, Absolute Monsters, Lucy Valentine and the Zodiac Killers. Visit fb.com/philliespub for more information.

Over at Club SHARP in western Seoul's Mangwon-dong, the psychedelic punk group, Billy Carter, will be playing a Halloween show along with Haepaary, Gyoran, 18Fevers and Fat Hamster & Kang New. An event invite warns "No racist, sexist, profession-objectifying or any fucked up costume." Visit fb.com/blyctr for more information.

On Sunday, SHARP will host Chainsaw Fest, which isn't labeled as a Halloween event but is closer to the actual day anyway. It marks a rare reunion of the crust punk band, Scumraid, who will share the stage with 10 other bands including Seoul Dolmangchi, Crawler and FLUSH!! Upstairs at SHARP Ink, there will be a flea market event selling all kinds of merch, including clothes, records, toys and tattoo flashes. Visit fb.com/sharpinkcrew for more information.

Do robots celebrate Halloween? On the final day of ROBOTWORLD 2022, an international robot contest, there will be an "antweight" battle robot competition. Visitors might get a glimpse of Team ORBY, which competed in the most recent season of the U.S. TV show, "Battlebots." Visit robotworld.or.kr for more information.