Halloween Late Night 50,000 Gathered in Hongdae... AI Crowd Management Prevented Safety Accidents

1710 Personnel Deployed Including Mapo District Office, Police Station, and Fire Station

After a situation assessment meeting between Mapo-gu, Mapo Police Station, and Mapo Fire Station in Seoul, Mapo-gu staff and police officers are maintaining order on the newly secured pedestrian walkway in the club district. (Photo by Mapo-gu Office)

“Currently, we are at the crowd density caution stage. Please be mindful of safety accidents and move in an orderly manner.”

At 12:47 AM and 1:58 AM on the 29th, the crowd gathered in the Hongdae club district reached 50,000 people, about twice as many as usual at the same time, but there were no significant accidents.

During this time, warning sounds blared loudly through the AI crowd management system's electronic display boards and voice broadcasts in the bustling Hongdae club district. Despite repeated caution notices from the AI crowd management system, as the crowd continued to flow in, Mapo-gu (Mayor Park Kang-su) immediately held a situation assessment meeting with the Mapo Police Station and Mapo Fire Station. Following the situation assessment meeting, both directions of the club district roads were immediately blocked to control vehicle traffic, and additional pedestrian walkways were urgently secured.

A senior official in charge of safety in the district stated, “By activating the ‘Safety Mapo Hotline,’ which brings together disaster-related agencies in Mapo-gu, and operating a joint on-site situation room with Mapo-gu, Mapo Police Station, and Mapo Fire Station, we were able to respond swiftly and appropriately to the crowd density situation.”

According to Mapo-gu, the district designated the six days from the 27th to November 1st as an intensive crowd management period in preparation for Halloween Day, focusing on crowd density safety management around the Hongdae Red Road area.

Centered on the Citizen Safety Division, a ‘Special Safety Management Task Force (TF)’ was formed, conducting daily patrols to inspect risk factors during the intensive management period. From the 27th to the 29th, the special task force immediately removed 46 illegal advertisements and 94 hazardous obstructions that hindered pedestrian movement and narrowed passageways during patrols in the Hongdae area.

Additionally, safety fences were installed to designate right-side walking lanes in three sections prone to crowd density, including the R3 and R4 sections of Hongdae Red Road, separating the pedestrian paths. District officials and police were stationed at key points, and patrol officers helped alleviate crowd congestion.

The district announced that the total length of safety fences installed for right-side walking reached 550 meters, and from the 27th to the 29th, a total of 1,710 personnel were deployed for crowd density safety measures, including 360 Mapo-gu officials, 1,050 police officers, 180 firefighters, and 120 volunteers.

Notably, a meticulous safety measure was taken by designating the Hongdae Entrance, which had severe congestion due to two-way traffic, as a single entrance and exit. From 7 PM to 11 PM, Exit 9 of Hongdae Entrance Station, which experienced extreme congestion, was designated as exit-only, and Exit 8 as entrance-only to prevent crush accidents caused by falls. A field medical support team and a 119 special situation room were set up at the Hongdae Red Road site to ensure prompt medical assistance.

Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “Thanks to the district’s meticulous safety measures and thorough response, no safety accidents occurred during the peak crowd density period from the 27th to the 29th of Halloween. We ask citizens visiting crowded places during Halloween to also follow safety rules to ensure that not a single safety accident occurs.”

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