JAKARTA - The provincial and city government authorities in South Korea, one by one, canceled their fall festival, as the country mourned the deaths of more than 150 people in a crowd of Halloween celebrations in Itaewon, Seoul.
The Busan metropolitan government said on Monday it had decided to delay this year's Busan Fire Flower Festival indefinitely, which was originally held at Gwangalli Beach on Saturday, reported the Korea Times on November 1.
The decision was made at a local government emergency meeting, as the annual festival falls during the national mourning period.
More than 1 million people are expected to visit the event, which is one of the country's main fireworks festivals, when it reopens for the first time in three years. This festival has not been held since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the decision, the city will fully return 8,000 tickets purchased for paid seats.
The Daegu city government also decided to postpone the Daegu International Opera Festival to next month, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, citing the Itaewon tragedy.
Meanwhile, Jeju Olle Street Festival, which will open Thursday and is scheduled to last for three days, was also canceled. This year's event is planned to offer a tracking tour of the three Olle lines on the island's west coast.
It is known, at least 156 people died as waves of people tried to move through a narrow alley in popular nightlife district, Itaewon, during a Halloween celebration last Saturday.
The Korean government has set a period of national mourning for weeks until Saturday, with flags of half a pole on government buildings and public offices across the country during that period.
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