I have been following the growing phenomenon of Halloween in East Asia.
There is no denying that Halloween in East Asia (specifically Tokyo, Japan and Seoul, South Korea) have become like a Mardis Gras-like event that brings thousands of people from the country and all over the world.
While my Halloween experiences are primarily Tokyo-centric, I am aware that the popularity of Halloween was growing in Seoul and other Asian countries.
Back on October 16, 2016, I wrote about how I was traveling to Japan to experience the Halloween phenomenon. In a way, it was hard to fathom it, but I knew that I had to experience it firsthand and it surpassed my expectations. It was nothing like the Halloween experienced in the US. It’s not about kids ringing doorbells asking for candy, Halloween is an event that people celebrate for the excitement of dressing up and partying (or getting photos of those who are in costumes), huge parades and a boom to the economy.
Halloween had been, somewhat of a major pain to Tokyo Metropolitan Police in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Halloween was a lot different back then. Many people (moreso, ex-pats, tourists and a few Japanese) would party on the Yamanote train and become raucous inside the trains to the point that police were getting angry and a few Japanese were protesting for foreigners to leave Japan. At that time, it was less than a hundred people or so that would take part in this.
But in Japan, around 2015, it had become big business. Similar to the United States, candy is sold like crazy, costumes are sold like crazy. Adults, children and even pets are dressed up for Halloween. Theme parks and stores celebrate Halloween to give out candy to children, in hopes their parents will shop at their store. And there are parades galore celebrating Halloween and the turnouts are huge!
Word has spread that Halloween has become the major party destination and this would entice people from all over the world to travel and experience it!
For retailers, Halloween meant big money, promotions would start in September and stores and stations would go full force.
In Japan, the day after Halloween, right on November 1st, Japan would go on full Christmas mode, and most recently, Japan started celebrating “Black Friday” for the past few years in November (probably thanking Amazon for that, also introducing “Cyber Monday”) and of course, Japan going full force with illumination in December and then for the New Year, Japan would go in Fukubukuro (Lucky Bag) mode and then in February and March, Valentines Day and White Day. A lot of these western events are being adopted in East Asia.
But for Halloween, it’s seen as a day of people in costumes, partying and having fun. Not focused on just kids getting candy, it’s about people of all ages, having fun, and for some..being wild and crazy for that one day in the year.
Note: Christmas is seen as a time families and couples can be together. Fukuburo is a way for stores to get rid of excess things from their store by putting them in lucky bags that people will purchase randomly at different prices (so you either get a lucky or unlucky bag).
While my Halloween event focus was primarily in Tokyo, I have traveled to experience the event and while it was fun, I started to notice the disturbing trend of violence and growing crowds year after year to the point that people were shoved and nearly crushed. The crowds getting out of hand.
Of course, a lot of the events that happen in Halloween are official events announced weeks in advance and attracts families and are safe.
But then, there are non-official events. More like, one huge giant hang out where people show up to a location to celebrate Halloween with thousands of people.
In Tokyo, it was bad in 2018, when people started trashing the area, people groping women in costume, flipping a vehicle over in Shibuya, Tokyo that the government had to institute a no-drinking rule, told stores to not sell liquor during a certain time and knew crowds were increasing that police presence were needed.
But in Halloween 2019, despite the drinking bans and police presence, I noticed something that I feared was the beginning. It was even more larger crowds where people were shoved to one another, no one could move, bad to the point where people began panicking. And this is Shibuya crossing, a large open intersection that this was happening.
Note: It’s important to note that Halloween events tend to happy on the Saturday before the Halloween date and the Halloween date itself (if it lands on a weekday). Both days get huge crowds.
While the next three years would not be as bad due to the lack of travel due to the pandemic, I have worried a lot because travel was reopening and I knew that people will want to celebrate Halloween.
On October 2, 2022, I wrote the following on social media. I was worried about the situation in Shibuya, Tokyo but I didn’t know that the crowd situation were also growing as bad in Seoul during Halloween.
Of course, in Tokyo, they have been growing police presence because they have experienced unruly behavior in 2018. But the crowd control of 2019, was a sign of what could possibly be more trouble.
But because Japan didn’t open their borders until October 11th, those who wanted to celebrate Halloween found another place that was open to foreign travel in advance and has attracted many thanks to one’s interest in the entertainment and culture and that is South Korea.
Seoul was to celebrate their Halloween events for the first time in three years and many people from all over the world have planned their trips to experience Halloween in Seoul and to experience this new normal of being out with many people and friends and dressing up.
I started to see the first problems on TikTok and YouTube of the crowds and people going into a narrow alley area and this was earlier in the evening.
Please remember that Shibuya, Halloween is crowded in the open, big intersection of Shibuya Crossing. For Seoul, Korea, many headed to Itaewon and this is bringing thousands of people to a shopping/club district, there is only going one way or the other.
This is heartbreaking. While I was worried about things in Tokyo, I was not aware of where Halloween was celebrated in Seoul (all I knew was about the growing popularity, as we started to see more and more Korean entertainers doing Halloween videos).
The world is shocked by the news, especially with the visual images. I can only feel like everyone else of the sympathy towards families and friends who know someone who was at the event, are worried for their loved ones. This was just an event for people to have fun and enjoy themselves. Not an event with mass casualties.
The images of many first responders giving CPR and bodies lining up in the street is tragic. To see parents trying to hold their young children on top of their shoulders and try to survive the crowds, this is the worst I could have ever imagined for a Halloween event.
I’ve seen bad in Shibuya Halloween crowds and I have worried that those crowds will someday lead to tragedy but not like this. Not with this many people. I have worried for years about the growing number of crowds and people feeling they were getting suffocated in years past because crowds have just continue to grow. And now the tragedy some of us have feared, has now happened.
This is absolutely heartbreaking. My prayers goes out to the families and friends of those who passed away in this tragedy.
