...is not what it should be. Since President Yoon moved the presidential office to the former Ministry of Defense Building in Yongsan, not far at all from this popular entertainment area, a huge additional presidential security burden has been placed on Yongsan police, which might leave them unable to respond to any public disorder in Itaewon. This contributed greatly to the Yongsan gu police not responding in a timely manner with sufficient manpower despite repeated warnings of the public safety hazard and potential for injuries presented by the large crowds attracted there for the Halloween event on Oct. 29, 2022. 159 people were killed when they were crushed to death on the narrow alleyways.
The South Korean government is in the denial and cover up mode about this public safety problem in the area. They are blaming the disaster on local officials, when the security problem in the Yongsan area created by the presidential office move was known in advance. This is actually still a big issue with the surviving families.
Just something to keep in mind if you visit Seoul. I'm not saying I wouldn't visit Itaewon, almost everyone does, but I'd be alert to any crowd conditions. Normally, I consider Itaewon and other areas in Seoul quite safe compared to US cities at night.
Another situation is that there are large demonstrations typically involving tens of thousands of people on major routes in downtown Seoul every Saturday evening. Some claimed the demo last Saturday, was 200,000, i think that was exaggerated, but still was a big crowd, assembling and marching through downtown Seoul. The crowds start forming in late afternoon, and may be anywhere from Gangwhamun, Sejong plaza, to city hall, to Samgachi on the other side of the old Yongsan garrison, to right in front of the presidential office on Itaewonno, (the old MoD building). If you plan to visit Seoul, it helps to know where the demos are, so you can avoid them, due to the congestion and traffic. There are normally large numbers of police along the "march" route.
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