Halloween sales in Itaewon drop 70 percent a year after tragedy

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This year’s Halloween weekend marked a significant change in the sales dynamics of major commercial areas in Seoul, following the tragic Itaewon crowd crush incident that occurred the year before. While traditional Halloween hotspots such as Itaewon, Hongdae, Garosu-gil, and Kondae saw a decline in revenue, emerging areas like Seongsu, Yongsan, Ikseon, and Changsin-dong witnessed an increase in sales. This shift can be attributed to individuals looking to avoid crowded places due to the lingering impact of the Itaewon tragedy, choosing to enjoy their weekends in less congested locales.

A year ago, a crowd crush during a Halloween event in Itaewon resulted in the tragic loss of 159 lives.

A major South Korean credit card company recently conducted an analysis of individual credit and debit card usage in the food and convenience store sectors, which shed some light on the Halloween weekend’s business trends. According to the findings, in the evening and nighttime hours from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. of the Halloween weekend (October 27-29), the revenue in commercial districts in Itaewon, Hongdae, Garosu-gil, and Kondae showed a 74 percent drop compared to the same weekend last year. Hongdae saw a 30 percent reduction in nighttime sales, while Garosu-gil and Kondae saw declines of 22 percent and 10 percent respectively. In contrast, Yongsan’s Yonglidan-gil witnessed a 13 percent rise in nighttime sales and an 11 percent increase in overall sales covering both day and night.

Professor Huh Kyung-ok from Sungshin Women’s University commented on this change in the Halloween business landscape, saying that “The decrease in sales in areas that were traditionally famous for Halloween celebrations can be attributed to a sense of reluctance among citizens to visit the locations where the accident occurred last year.” The consumer science professor went on to explain that the increase in sales in emerging areas was due to the growing number of people seeking alternative destinations for their weekends, choosing less well-known locations for to celebrate Halloween.