<p>A year after a massive stampede and crowd crush killed 159 Halloween revellers in the South Korean capital Seoul, the night-life district of Itaewon wore a quiet look on Saturday (October 28). The usual festivities of the area was replaced by mourning for the dead. Each year around Halloween, the alleys are decorated in the district that has city's hottest nightclubs and bars. But this time, posters and flowers remembering the dead were seen. The youngsters celebrated elsewhere.</p>

<p>AFP quoted Lee Sung-min, who lives and works in the district, saying that he didn't even realise that it was the Halloween weekend till Saturday.</p>

<p>"It used to be filled with visitors dressed in costumes and blood makeup by this time. But if you look at the age range of the people walking around, it's mostly just relatively old local residents," Lee said.</p>

<p><strong>Watch | South Korea: G-Dragon booked under alleged drug charges</strong></p>

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<p>A crush in a narrow alley after crowd surge led to last year's tragedy. Many in Seoul blame the horrific incident on lack of preparation and poor crowd control measures. Early calls for help went unanswered. Most of the dead were people in their 20s and 30s.</p>

<p>"I've left a note telling (the victims) not to lose courage and rest in peace," said Lee Jung-hyeop, who visited Itaewon to mark the anniversary.</p>

<p>Police and authorities have been conducting crowd-control drills this year and gatherings haven't been banned in Itaewon. The police are taking help of an AI-backed network of nearly 1000 CCTV cameras.</p>

<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/south-korean-man-dies-from-heart-attack-after-choking-on-live-octopus-dish-651622">South Korean man dies from heart attack after choking on 'live octopus' dish</a></strong></p>

<p>Many revellers are looking at other places to celebrate the festival, such Hongdae, which is another popular spot among the youth.</p>

<p>"I thought Hongdae would be better than Itaewon to celebrate Halloween with my boyfriend," said Cheon Ye-ji, a 19-year-old student as quoted by AFP.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"It looks like the crowd is better controlled after last year's incident."</p>

<p>The tragedy last year led to a police investigation which eventually acknowledged of negligence and poor response from the authorities. The probe referred 23 official for prosecution. However, it has not resulted in resignation or sacking of any senior government official.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

<p><strong><em>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</em></strong></p>

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A year after a massive stampede and crowd crush killed 159 Halloween revellers in the South Korean capital Seoul, the night-life district of Itaewon wore a quiet look on Saturday (October 28).

A year after a massive stampede and crowd crush killed 159 Halloween revellers in the South Korean capital Seoul, the night-life district of Itaewon wore a quiet look on Saturday (October 28). The usual festivities of the area was replaced by mourning for the dead. Each year around Halloween, the alleys are decorated in the district that has city's hottest nightclubs and bars. But this time, posters and flowers remembering the dead were seen. The youngsters celebrated elsewhere. AFP quoted Lee Sung-min, who lives and works in the district, saying that he didn't even realise that it was the Halloween weekend till Saturday. "It used to be filled with visitors dressed in costumes and blood makeup by this time. But if you look at the age range of the people walking around, it's mostly just relatively old local residents," Lee said. Watch | South Korea: G-Dragon booked under alleged drug charges × A crush in a narrow alley after crowd surge led to last year's tragedy. Many in Seoul blame the horrific incident on lack of preparation and poor crowd control measures. Early calls for help went unanswered. Most of the dead were people in their 20s and 30s. "I've left a note telling (the victims) not to lose courage and rest in peace," said Lee Jung-hyeop, who visited Itaewon to mark the anniversary. Police and authorities have been conducting crowd-control drills this year and gatherings haven't been banned in Itaewon. The police are taking help of an AI-backed network of nearly 1000 CCTV cameras. Also Read | South Korean man dies from heart attack after choking on 'live octopus' dish Many revellers are looking at other places to celebrate the festival, such Hongdae, which is another popular spot among the youth. "I thought Hongdae would be better than Itaewon to celebrate Halloween with my boyfriend," said Cheon Ye-ji, a 19-year-old student as quoted by AFP. "It looks like the crowd is better controlled after last year's incident." The tragedy last year led to a police investigation which eventually acknowledged of negligence and poor response from the authorities. The probe referred 23 official for prosecution. However, it has not resulted in resignation or sacking of any senior government official. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

South Korea: Seoul night-life hotspot marks one year of deadly Halloween crush

<p>BTS star Jin was all set to appear on the popular Korean variety show 'Running Man'. But owing to the horrific tragedy at Seoul's Itaetown area which left hundreds dead and several injured, Big Hit Entertainment- which manages BTS- has announced that Jin has cancelled his appearance.&nbsp;</p>

<p>South Korea has declared a five day-national mourning period.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Over 150 people lost their lives in a stampede that broke out in Seoul's Itaewon district on October 29 KST. Popular Korean actor Lee Ji-han too was among those declared dead. The stampede has been dubbed as one of South Korea’s worst-ever accidents involving youngsters. &nbsp;Most of those who have died were in their 20s.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
It is being reported that over 100, 000 people had gathered for a Halloween event at a hotel. A stampede broke as rumours spread about a celebrity being spotted nearby.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/south-korea-halloween-horror-149-killed-in-seoul-stampede-529520">South Korea Halloween horror: 149 killed in Seoul stampede</a></p>

<p>One of the fan accounts of BTS tweeted, " South Korea has now announced a national mourning period with regard to the horrible Itaewon tragedy. All entertainment shows/events will likely be postponed to express condolences, so in order to respect the deceased and affected, please be careful with what you say &nbsp;or post."<br />
<br />
Earlier, BTS member JHope shared a funny post for Halloween. Owing to the tragedy, the singer deleted the post out of solidarity.<br />
<br />
Not just BTS, but several other K-pop artists have reportedly cancelled events this week to solidarity to families who lost loved ones.&nbsp;</p>

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BTS star Jin was all set to appear on the popular Korean variety show 'Running Man'. But owing to the horrific tragedy at Seoul's Itaetown area which left hundreds dead and several injured, Big Hit Entertainment- which manages BTS- has announced that Jin has cancelled his appearance.

BTS star Jin was all set to appear on the popular Korean variety show 'Running Man'. But owing to the horrific tragedy at Seoul's Itaetown area which left hundreds dead and several injured, Big Hit Entertainment- which manages BTS- has announced that Jin has cancelled his appearance. South Korea has declared a five day-national mourning period. Over 150 people lost their lives in a stampede that broke out in Seoul's Itaewon district on October 29 KST. Popular Korean actor Lee Ji-han too was among those declared dead. The stampede has been dubbed as one of South Korea’s worst-ever accidents involving youngsters. Most of those who have died were in their 20s. It is being reported that over 100, 000 people had gathered for a Halloween event at a hotel. A stampede broke as rumours spread about a celebrity being spotted nearby. South Korea Halloween horror: 149 killed in Seoul stampede One of the fan accounts of BTS tweeted, " South Korea has now announced a national mourning period with regard to the horrible Itaewon tragedy. All entertainment shows/events will likely be postponed to express condolences, so in order to respect the deceased and affected, please be careful with what you say or post." Earlier, BTS member JHope shared a funny post for Halloween. Owing to the tragedy, the singer deleted the post out of solidarity. Not just BTS, but several other K-pop artists have reportedly cancelled events this week to solidarity to families who lost loved ones.

BTS member Jin cancels event following Halloween tragedy in Itaewon

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