Halloween has been making steady inroad into South Korean culture over the last couple of decades. So far though, progress has been slow and it's still pretty much a niche phenomenon, with selective adoption. For example, you won't see children dressing up in cute/scary costumes and going trick-or-treating, and I doubt that particular Hallowe'en custom will ever make landfall here; at least in part because when half the country's population lives in impersonal, industrially-built giant apartment complexes with coded entrance, it's just not the same as going from door to door begging for candy from familiar neighbors.
While there still is plenty of dressing-up, it's mostly for young adults, with beer and street food instead of candy. Think of it as a kind of open-air ballo in maschera. And here are three of the best costumes I saw in the Hongdae neighborhood, which is a major young people's hangout in Seoul.
Medieval physician in plague mask, carrying a coffin at the ready:
Creepy ghost girl with a No face on the back of her head. I wonder if she was wearing an identical mask in front...
And of course, the Great Equalizer:
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