South Korean night-life district mourns dead a year after Halloween crush

FILE PHOTO: People walk through a CCTV (closed-circuit television system) monitored alley in Itaewon, where the Halloween crowd crush occurred last year, in Seoul, South Korea, October 23, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) - A year after 159 Halloween revellers were killed in a crowd crush in South Korea, the capital's night-life district of Itaewon was quiet on Saturday, the area's usual festivities replaced by mourning for those died.

In the days before Halloween, seasonal decorations normally adorn the alleys that house the district's hottest nightclubs and bars, but this year posters and flowers commemorating the dead took their place, and young people celebrated elsewhere.