The Seoripul Cleanup Parade, the closing program of this year's festival, goes viral for the second straight year — video content across TJB's YouTube and Seocho-gu's Instagram Shorts surpassed 3 million combined views as of Thursday; 112 sanitation workers and residents took part in the special finale
"I hope that the cleanup after a festival — the return to everyday life — becomes established as a festival culture that reflects the dignity of a city," said Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su.
Video content from the Seoripul Cleanup Parade, the closing act of the 2026 Seoripul Music Festival held along Banpo-daero in Seocho-gu on Sept. 19 and 20, is drawing widespread attention online for the second year in a row.
Seocho-gu said the festival drew 280,000 visitors this year, and that the cleanup parade — presented as the final official program — has again spread across the country through social media, earning widespread praise.
The Seoripul Cleanup Parade is a distinctive festival concept in which sanitation workers tidying up the venue after the event are choreographed into a full parade. Last year, a YouTube Shorts video produced by the district titled "Back to Everyday Life" racked up about 6 million views and became a viral sensation. This year, the district expanded the concept by inviting residents to join, presenting it as the festival's official closing program.
A total of 112 people took part in this year's parade, including sanitation workers, water-truck drivers and 32 residents recruited in advance. Five water trucks, 20 motorcycles from the Seoripul Mobile Unit and three compact street-cleaning vehicles also rolled down Banpo-daero to mark the festival's end.
This year, a broadcaster took notice of the unusual concept first. A staffer from TJB News — the Daejeon, Sejong and South Chungcheong Province broadcaster — came across the cleanup parade Shorts clip on Seocho-gu's official Instagram and immediately requested a phone interview with the district's coordinator. The resulting captioned news video surpassed 2.3 million YouTube views by 6 p.m. Thursday, just two days after it was posted, while the original Shorts clip on Seocho-gu's Instagram crossed 1 million views — together reaching more than 3 million viewers.
"When I saw the video on Seocho-gu's official Instagram, I thought it was a completely new kind of cleanup parade unlike anything I'd seen at a local festival, and I really wanted to share it," the TJB staffer said. "We originally expected around 500,000 views, but as of Thursday it had far exceeded 2 million — more than four times what we anticipated. We're grateful to have been able to share the inspiration we felt from Seocho-gu's content with so many people."
The comment sections have been equally enthusiastic. Viewers wrote: "The phrase 'dignity of a city' really hits home"; "What a cool and meaningful finale — I hope it spreads nationwide"; "Whoever came up with this is a genius — kudos to the person who pitched it and the one who approved it"; and "This is exactly what taxes should be spent on."
Many viewers noted that what makes the video stand out is precisely that it focuses not on a famous singer's performance or a flashy stage — the usual drivers of festival viral content — but on the sanitation workers who are the first to return to everyday life once the festival ends, their work reframed as a parade.
With 32 residents joining the parade this year, the event also shifted in meaning — from "a festival where someone else cleans up" to "a festival everyone finishes together." One resident who took part alongside their child said: "Last year I just cheered from the sidelines, but this year I got to join in, help wrap up the festival and be a positive influence — it was truly meaningful."
District Mayor Jeon said: "If last year's cleanup parade gave citizens an unexpected moment of joy, this year residents joined in directly, adding the significance of citizens being part of the festival from start to finish. I hope that the cleanup process — the return to everyday life after a festival — becomes established as a festival culture that shows the dignity of a city."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
