Itaewon's community copes as Halloween weekend passes without incident

Volunteers and police personnel deployed for crowd control monitor at an alley in central Seoul's Itaewon on Halloween weekend, Saturday, a year after a deadly crowd disaster claimed 159 lives. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Foreign residents criticize police for 1-year belated response

By Jon Dunbar

"Last year, where were you?" a foreign man asked two police officers deployed to central Seoul's Itaewon as part of crowd control measures a year after a deadly crowd disaster here claimed 159 lives.

This harsh exchange happened early Saturday evening, at the upper end of the alley where the tragedy occurred, which has since been renamed the October 29 Memorial Alley.

The man continued berating the two bewildered officers for about a minute. "You see any drugs?" he asked, a reference to a widespread story that the autopsies for last year's disaster victims had been tested for illicit drugs, a move widely criticized as shifting blame onto the victims.

Members of the NGO People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy hand out purple bracelets and ribbons commemorating last year's crowd disaster, next to city volunteers, Saturday, at the top of the October 29 Memorial Alley in central Seoul's Itaewon. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

For this year's Halloween weekend, the deployment of Seoul's police, as well as district office workers plus various other volunteers, was clearly meant as a show of force, to assuage safety fears and maybe deflect blame for poor preparation taken last year. Some, like that one angry foreigner, say the efforts came one year too late.

A police officer stands guard at the lower end of October 29 Memorial Alley in central Seoul's Itaewon, Saturday. To the right, a female volunteer hands out purple bracelets and ribbons commemorating the tragic anniversary of last year's deadly crowd disaster that took 159 lives. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

"It's just a defense mechanism: 'we f-cked up last year,'" said another Halloween partier whose nametag read "P. Neis." "But these low-ranking officers were not responsible. What choice do they have? I don't blame the everyday officers ― I blame the ones in command."

Neis was dressed in a police uniform costume, which had been widely reported prior to the weekend to be banned for this year. However, the Korean American said he had no troubles with his costume, which included a toy sidearm, and added that some actual police officers had even complimented him on it. He explained that he believed the law forbade costumes mimicking Korean police uniforms, but not overseas ones.

A Korean American dressed in a police uniform poses in central Seoul's Haebangchon neighborhood, Saturday, near Itaewon where a crowd disaster took 159 lives last year. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Itaewon was divided on Friday and Saturday night, as temporary barriers were deployed to create two lanes of foot traffic. Some passages, such as the now notorious memorial alley, were designated as one-way only ― although their signs were often in the Korean language only, an odd oversight considering the neighborhood's foreign reputation.

People walk on both sides of a barricade dividing an alley in central Seoul's Itaewon on Halloween weekend, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

There were still many people out on Saturday night, but few of them were openly celebrating Halloween. Among the crowds in Itaewon, no more than 1 percent wore costumes.

"Consciously or unconsciously, people do stare here a lot, and if I care then I just can't go out," said Gina, a Korean national who had dressed up in a costume.

She also shared a skeptical opinion of the police deployment in the area, which included nearby Haebangchon where she was hanging out.

"I feel like they're prepared more, but I feel like they're showing off, like a one-time deal," she said. "People need to look from different perspectives. It's not just Halloween. It's the latest disaster. People are starting to realize there's something wrong with the government's response. If our tax money goes to the police force, then why weren't they here?"

Gina was outnumbered by other partygoers who were not wearing costumes, as well as various media personnel and others gathering footage of the scene, the police and crowd control workers, plus the occasional religious zealots.

One woman stood in front of the Hamilton Hotel preaching hate in front of a sign that read "Homosexual love is Sin! Believe Jesus!" However, she was in the minority, and many other religious leaders in the area pushed much less confrontational messages.

A woman, right, preaches in English in front of a sign that reads "Homosexual love is Sin! Believe Jesus!" on Halloween weekend in central Seoul's Itaewon, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The various businesses in the area were open to customers, although it was clear their numbers were drastically reduced this year. One foreign bar near the disaster site closed early, leaving a sign on the door reading, "As a mark of respect for Halloween 2022, we will be closed at 9 p.m. tonight. Thank you for your understanding."

A rumor spread that the bar, and others, had been approached by police asking them to close early, but a member of the foreign bar staff said that no such request was made to their bar. "I didn’t hear anything about the police demanding it from us," the staffer said on condition of anonymity. "We closed out of a mark of respect."

Another foreign-owned bar down the street had a party celebrating its one-year anniversary, with curtains drawn for the sake of the patrons' privacy.

"Halloween weekend 2023 was basically a Monday night that was inundated with police officers just standing around," the bar's owner told The Korea Times the next day.

A woman in an astronaut costume poses in central Seoul's Haebangchon neighborhood, near Itaewon, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Venue owners as well as customers expressed frustration with what they saw as the excessive police presence.

"It was kind of an eerie sensation," said Fred, an American resident of the area. "The eerieness is more from I know what it's normally like."

But still, Halloween weekend or not, there was no shortage of people who wanted to be out this weekend.

"We're coming out, we're living life, we're still living, and we can enjoy these things, but we just need to take care of each other when we do so," Fred said. "Be safe and happy Halloween."