Subway passenger traffic during evening hours in major areas of Seoul such as Itaewon and Hongdae increased by 17.5% over the Halloween weekend compared to the previous week.

Seoul Metro announced that the total number of passengers getting on and off at major stations—including Itaewon, Noksapyeong, Hangangjin, Hongik University, Hapjeong, Konkuk University, Seongsu, Gangnam, and Myeongdong stations—reached 697,844 between 6:00 PM and midnight on October 30 and 31.

This is a 17.5% increase from 594,160 during the same period the previous week.

Particularly on October 31, the day of Halloween, 356,364 people used these stations, marking a 32.5% surge in passengers compared to the previous Saturday.

Users on October 30 totaled 341,480, representing a 5.0% increase from the previous Friday.

The station that saw the largest increase in subway passengers on October 31 was Itaewon Station.

The number of passengers getting on and off at Itaewon Station surged to 38,953, approximately 2.4 times the 16,338 recorded on the previous Saturday.

Noksapyeong Station also saw an increase of 94.8% to 10,703, and Hangangjin Station rose by 35.2% to 10,512 over the same period.

The station with the highest number of users was Hongik University Station, where 94,040 passengers boarded and alighted on October 31, a 35.8% increase from the previous week.

Konkuk University Station and Hapjeong Station saw increases of 33.8% and 29.3%, recording 50,387 and 46,627 passengers, respectively.

Seoul Metro deployed safety personnel to major stations during the Halloween period to manage congestion.

On October 31, when passengers were heavily concentrated, four inbound and outbound trains bypassed Itaewon Station without stopping from 11:47 PM until the end of service.

(Photo: Yonhap News)