Halloween Weekend Sees Nearly 700,000 Evening Boardings and Alightings at 11 Stations, Including Itaewon, Up 17.5% Week on Week

Passenger numbers up 32.5% on Halloween... Hongik University Station busiest

Nearly 700,000 people used 11 subway stations in Seoul's major nightlife districts during the evening hours over Halloween weekend.

Seoul Metro said on November 3 that a total of 697,844 passengers boarded or alighted at 11 major stations between 6 p.m. and midnight on October 30 and 31. That was up 17.5% from 594,160 during the same hours on the previous weekend, October 23 and 24. The stations covered were Itaewon, Noksapyeong, Hangangjin, Hongik University, Hapjeong (Lines 2 and 6), Konkuk University (Lines 2 and 7), Seongsu, Gangnam and Myeongdong.

Barricades are set up on a crowded street in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the evening of Oct. 31, Halloween. Yonhap News.

The increase in passenger numbers was concentrated on Halloween itself. On Friday, October 30, 341,480 people boarded or alighted at the 11 stations, just 5.0% more than on the previous Friday. By contrast, on Saturday, October 31, Halloween, the figure reached 356,364, up 32.5% from 268,861 on the previous Saturday.

Hongik University Station had the most passengers. On October 31, 94,040 people boarded or alighted there, up 35.8% from the previous week, and the two-day total was 169,337. On October 31, Konkuk University Station followed with 50,387 passengers, followed by Hapjeong Station with 46,627, Itaewon Station with 38,953, Seongsu Station with 37,324 and Gangnam Station with 37,134.

The rate of increase varied significantly by area. Around Itaewon, passenger numbers were about 2.4 times the previous week's level at Itaewon Station, up 94.8% at Noksapyeong Station and up 35.2% at Hangangjin Station. Stations serving university districts, including Hongik University, Konkuk University and Hapjeong, also saw increases of around 30%. By contrast, the increases were relatively modest at Seongsu (10.6%), Myeongdong (13.1%) and Gangnam (4.8%).

Seoul Metro deployed safety personnel at stations where crowds were expected and managed congestion. At Itaewon Station, where passengers were concentrated on October 31, four trainsets on the northbound and southbound lines passed through without stopping from 11:47 p.m. until the end of service.

Ma Hae-geun, head of the Business Division at Seoul Metro, said, "During this Halloween period, too, subway passengers were concentrated in specific areas and at specific times. We will continue to closely analyze boarding and alighting patterns and passenger flows at major stations, and proactively manage crowds at large-scale events so that the public can use the subway safely."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.