Police in Itaewon, an expat-friendly neighborhood in Seoul, received over 370 reports of violence, theft, sexual molestation and other incidents, including calls for help, over five days in the run-up to Halloween, they said Thursday.

Halloween masks (Yonhap)
According to Yongsan Police Station, the Itaewon office responded to a total of 372 incidents from Oct. 27, the last Friday before Halloween, to Tuesday, which marked the day of Halloween.

On Friday alone, police officers were dispatched to the scene 84 times. Over the course of the weekend, police handled at least 100 more incidents than the previous weekend.

Although Halloween is not widely celebrated in Korea, it has slowly begun to seep into the nation’s culture through younger generations. Itaewon, with its hip bars and clubs, attracts a large crowd of partygoers dressed in costumes.

To maintain safety and order in the area, police doubled patrols during the weekend.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)