Seoul Metropolitan Government activates safety, traffic and convenience measures

Wonhyo Bridge and Yeouido-dong Road closed Friday

Lines 5 and 9 to add 83 combined runs; Yeouinaru Station may skip stops

Ttareungi and personal mobility rentals suspended; Han River ferry service reduced or halted

[Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]
[Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Tuesday it will activate a comprehensive safety, traffic and convenience plan for the Seoul International Fireworks Festival on Friday, deploying 6,800 safety personnel across venues, subway stations and the Han River to manage the event, which draws more than 1 million visitors each year.

The main fireworks show begins at 8 p.m. Friday. This year, a pre-event night will be held for the first time, extending the festival to two days. The city will operate a joint safety command center with organizers, police, fire departments and the district offices of Yeongdeungpo, Yongsan, Dongjak and Mapo-gu throughout both days. About 6,800 safety personnel will be stationed at venues and nearby subway stations, and safety equipment including barriers will be increased by 20 percent compared with last year.

On Friday, when the main event takes place, Wonhyo Bridge will be fully closed from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday, while Yeouido-dong Road — from the southern end of Mapo Bridge to in front of the 63 Building — will be closed from 3 p.m. to midnight. Twenty-four bus routes passing through those sections will be temporarily rerouted.

During the 7–8 p.m. period, when crowds converge on the venue, and again from 10–11 p.m. as the festival ends and people disperse, 26 bus routes serving the Yeouido Transfer Center and Yeouido Station will operate at increased frequency. From 4 p.m. to 9:20 p.m., 16 bus routes will pass without stopping at four stops on Hangang Bridge — including two stops at Nodeul Island and the stops at the Han River Bridge Outlook Cafe and Sky Suite.

The stop at Exit 2 of Yeouinaru Station will also be temporarily relocated. From 6:20 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, 12 routes will stop at a weekend temporary stop about 120 meters from the regular stop, and passengers are advised to check the stop location in advance.

To handle the surge in subway passengers before and after the main event, Line 5 will add 18 runs and Line 9 will add 65 runs on Friday. Safety staff at 21 stations near the venue will be increased to three to five times the normal level.

In the Yeouido and Ichon areas, rentals and returns of the public bicycle service Ttareungi and electric bicycles and shared personal mobility devices from eight private operators will be suspended from 8 a.m. Thursday through 7 a.m. Saturday. Bicycle access within crowd-dense zones on the day of the event will also be restricted.

Han River ferry services will be suspended or operate on reduced schedules from Thursday through Friday; detailed schedules are available on the Han River ferry website. The waterway between Sogang Bridge and Hangang Bridge will also be closed in stages by time slot, and water leisure operators and private boat users are advised to check closure times and zones in advance and inspect their vessels before departure.

The city and district offices will jointly crack down on illegal parking near viewing areas along roads and bridges in the Ichon, Noryangjin and Yeouido areas. Vehicles that do not comply with on-site warnings may be towed.

Fire trucks, ambulances and medical personnel will be stationed at the venue, and six combined operations centers and emergency medical posts will be set up across the Yeouido and Ichon areas. Forty-five patrol boats will also be deployed to manage safety on the Han River.

The city will install 94 portable toilets and additional waste collection facilities at Yeouido and Ichon Han River parks. After the event, about 1,200 volunteers — including a Hanwha Group employee volunteer team — will clean up the surrounding areas.

The city is also preparing for a temporary spike in fine dust levels from the fireworks. It will distribute guidelines on how citizens should respond to high fine dust concentrations before the event and deploy mobile measurement vehicles to monitor particulate matter and pollutant levels. The city recommended that infants, children and people with respiratory conditions wear KF80-rated or higher health masks.

The Seoul International Fireworks Festival is a corporate social responsibility event that Hanwha Group has held since 2000. This year's theme is "Your Infinite Colors — Find Your Light," with fireworks teams from South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom taking part. The British team will perform for 15 minutes starting at 8 p.m., followed by the American team for 20 minutes from 8:20 p.m. The Korean team will close the show with a finale titled "The Starry Night — Puzzle of Light" for about 30 minutes from 8:40 p.m. New this year are "tower fireworks" launched from Wonhyo Bridge and "bridge effects" in various patterns. A "decalcomania" display — in which fireworks burst symmetrically on both sides of the Han River sky centered on Wonhyo Bridge — will also make its debut.


cook@heraldcorp.com