People walk through a CCTV (closed-circuit television system) monitored alley in Itaewon, where the Halloween crowd crush occurred last year, in Seoul, South Korea, Oct 23, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

SEOUL — A year after 159 Halloween revellers were killed in a crowd crush in South Korea, the capital's night-life district of Itaewon was quiet on Saturday, the area's usual festivities replaced by mourning for those died.

In the days before Halloween, seasonal decorations normally adorn the alleys that house the district's hottest nightclubs and bars, but this year posters and flowers commemorating the dead took their place, and young people celebrated elsewhere.

Many people were still looking for other places to join Halloween festivities, such as Hongdae, another popular spot among the young

Lee Sung-min, who has lived and worked in the Seoul district for years, said he did not even realize it was the Halloween weekend until early Saturday.

READ MORE: A year after deadly S. Korea crush, families fight for accountability

"It used to be filled with visitors dressed in costumes and blood makeup by this time. But if you look at the age range of the people walking around, it's mostly just relatively old local residents," Lee said.

The crowd surge last year led to the crush in a narrow alley in Itaewon, a disaster that many people in Seoul blamed on a lack of preparation and crowd control measures, with early calls for help going unanswered. Most of the people who died were aged in their 20s and 30s.

"I've left a note telling (the victims) not to lose courage and rest in peace," said Lee Jung-hyeop, who visited Itaewon to mark the anniversary.

Gatherings have not been banned in Itaewon over Halloween this year though authorities and police were conducting crowd-control drills featuring an AI-backed network of nearly 1,000 closed-circuit TV cameras, ahead of the first anniversary of the disaster.

People walk through a CCTV (closed-circuit television system) monitored alley in Itaewon, where the Halloween crowd crush occurred last year, in Seoul, South Korea, Oct 20, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

People walk through an alley in Itaewon where the Halloween crowd crush occurred last year, in Seoul, South Korea, Oct 23, 2023. (PHOTO / REUTERS)

Many people were still looking for other places to join Halloween festivities, such as Hongdae, another popular spot among the young.

READ MORE: Itaewon crush: Seoul tests crowd safety plan ahead of anniversary

"I thought Hongdae would be better than Itaewon to celebrate Halloween with my boyfriend," said Cheon Ye-ji, a 19-year-old student. "It looks like the crowd is better controlled after last year's incident."

People pay their respects in a marquee filled with photos of victims as they attend a vigil in Seoul on Oct 29, 2023, to mark the first anniversary of the tragic crowd crush that killed 159 people during Halloween celebrations, in Seoul’s popular Itaewon nightlife area a year ago. (PHOTO / AFP)

A woman reacts as she and others attend a vigil in Seoul on Oct 29, 2023, to mark the first anniversary of the tragic crowd crush that killed 159 people during Halloween celebrations, in Seoul’s popular Itaewon nightlife area a year ago. (PHOTO / AFP)

The Itaewon deaths shocked a nation still scarred by the 2014 sinking of a ferry, the Sewol, that killed 304 people including 250 students on a school trip.

Last year's tragedy prompted a police investigation that ended in an acknowledgement of negligence and a poor response by the authorities, referring 23 officials for prosecution, but no senior government officials have resigned or been removed over the disaster.