Event runs through Saturday at DDP Art Hall 1
Korea Expressway Corporation rollover simulator draws steady lines
'Safety Photo Booth' event teaches accident response tips
I had no idea a rear seatbelt could matter this much. When else in your life would you ever get to experience a car completely rolling over?
A car made an unexpected appearance at Herald Money Festa 2026, held Friday at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. It was Korea Expressway Corporation's seatbelt rollover simulator.
The device lets visitors board an actual vehicle, buckle up, and experience a full rollover firsthand. Rather than simply explaining why seatbelts matter, it puts participants through a simulated crash scenario so they can feel the importance of buckling up for themselves.
Visitors lined up throughout the day to try the simulator, drawn by the kind of rollover experience more commonly found at amusement parks.
A 29-year-old visitor surnamed Yoo, who had just finished the ride, called it "the most fun booth at the event today," adding that it was "enjoyable but also genuinely eye-opening — I could feel firsthand just how important a seatbelt really is."
Korea Expressway Corporation is using hands-on experiences like the simulator to raise awareness of seatbelt use — a habit that is easy to overlook in everyday life.
According to the corporation, 87 of the 457 people killed in expressway accidents over the three years from 2023 to 2025 — about 19 percent — were not wearing seatbelts. The share rose sharply this year: in the first half of 2026, 27 of 95 fatalities, or 28.4 percent, involved unbelted occupants.
Seatbelt usage rates varied by seating position. The front passenger seat had the highest rate at 85.3 percent, followed by the driver's seat at 85.01 percent, while rear seats came in lowest at 69.65 percent — a drop of 8.3 percentage points from the previous year.
Korea Expressway Corporation said it plans to continue spreading awareness of seatbelt safety through such experiences nationwide.
"Not wearing a seatbelt raises the risk of suffering multiple serious injuries — to the head, neck and chest — by up to nine times compared with wearing one," a corporation official said. "The fatality rate also rises 2.8 times for front-seat occupants and up to 3.7 times for rear-seat passengers."
Also on the floor was a "Safety Photo Booth" event promoting the expressway accident response protocol known as "Bitbaks." The acronym covers the four steps drivers should follow when a vehicle stops due to an accident or breakdown on an expressway: turn on hazard lights, open the trunk, evacuate the vehicle, and call for help using a smartphone.
Now in its third year, Herald Money Festa runs Friday and Saturday under the theme "Money Rebalancing: Recalibrating the Weight of Your Assets." Lectures cover shares, ETFs, real estate, gold and virtual assets, as well as asset management, tax planning and inheritance — offering visitors a chance to reassess their financial flows and portfolios amid a rapidly shifting investment landscape.
hss@heraldcorp.com
