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.

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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 | <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>

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.&nbsp;

"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)

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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

The South Korean Police on Friday (January 13) blamed negligence and planning failures for the Halloween stampede in the Itaewon neighbourhood of Seoul on October 29 last year that killed 159 people.

The South Korean Police on Friday (January 13) blamed negligence and planning failures for the Halloween stampede in the Itaewon neighbourhood of Seoul on October 29 last year that killed 159 people. A special investigation team, which spent months combing through evidence and interviewing officials, said there were massive planning and response failures, a report by the news agency AFP said. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Sohn Je-hanm who led the investigation, said, "Organisations that are legally obligated to prevent and respond to disasters -- police, district offices and Seoul Metro -- did not establish safety measures in advance or came up with poor plans." Je-hanm said that on the day of the disaster, appropriate measures were not taken even after receiving rescue requests. ALSO READ | Police officer facing investigation for Itaewon Halloween crush in South Korea found dead The poor cooperation between agencies and delay in communications and relief efforts contributed to a higher number of deaths in the stampede, according to the report. The investigation team named 23 people, including the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, to prosecutors. On the other hand, six people have been arrested including Lee Im-jae, the former head of the Yongsan Police Station, which oversees Itaewon, and Park Hee-young, the head of the Yongsan district office. No top government officials blamed by special team, bereaved families criticise probe In its probe, the special investigation team of the South Korean Police did not blame officials from the Seoul city government, the interior ministry, or the national policy agency. Sohn Je-hanm said on Friday the reason for this was that it was "difficult to conclude that there was a concrete violation of duty", the AFP report said. Opposition lawmakers and bereaved families have criticised the police investigation for failing to hold top officials accountable for the tragedy. "We have so many questions unanswered," Lee Jong-chul, head of a group representing the bereaved families, told reporters as he arrived at a prosecutors' office in Seoul, a report by news agency Reuters on Friday said. Jong-chu said he came to the office to give a victim's statement, expecting a better and expanded probe. Following the October 29 tragedy, South Korea's Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min has faced calls to step down. Lee Sang-min has been widely criticised for claiming that having more personnel from the police and the fire department would not have prevented the stampede. The minister issued repeated apologies including in person to the victim's families last week, the AFP report said. However, he has not offered to step down from the top post. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

South Korea Halloween crowd crush: Cops blame negligence for fatal incident

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;

South Korea has declared a five day-national mourning period.&nbsp; 
 
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; 
 
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.

<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>

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." 
 
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.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

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

South Korea Halloween crowd crush: Cops blame negligence for fatal incident

BTS member Jin cancels event following Halloween tragedy in Itaewon