Seoul:Up to 120,000 people gathered in the bustling Hongdae district on Saturday to celebrate Halloween, while 20,000 gathered in Itaewon, the site of a deadly crowd crush in 2022, according to Seoul city data.

According to Yonhap News Agency, real-time data from the Seoul metropolitan government indicated that around 18,000 to 20,000 people were present in the Itaewon area as of 7 p.m. The area was described as "crowded," with visitors in their 20s making up 38.3 percent of the total.

The crowd in the Hongdae district was estimated to be between 115,000 and 120,000, with the area described as "very crowded."

Police had previously announced plans to deploy around 7,800 personnel nationwide to manage crowds celebrating Halloween over the weekend, including at 14 key locations in Seoul. Some visitors in Itaewon were also observed laying flowers to pay tribute to the victims.

On October 29, 2022, 159 people lost their lives in the country's worst-ever crowd crush in Seoul's Itaewon nightlife district during the Halloween weekend.