Category: Seoul

It looks like Halloween will not be cancelled in Seoul due to last year’s Itaewon crushing tragedy. Instead they will just deploy more police for crowd control:

People pass by an alley that was the site of a deadly crowd crush in central Seoul’s Itaewon, Sunday. The tragic event claimed at least 158 lives, including 26 foreign nationals from 14 countries, during Halloween celebrations on Oct. 29, 2022. Yonhap

Police will deploy over 1,000 personnel for crowd control in Itaewon and 15 other areas in Seoul that expect to attract a large number of people celebrating the Halloween weekend, a year after the deadly Itaewon crowd crush that claimed at least 158 lives.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) announced during a regular press briefing, Monday, a set of enhanced crowd control and security measures for 16 areas of the capital that are anticipated to see huge crowds from Friday to next Tuesday.

“The agency selected high-risk alleys after holding several meetings and conducting field studies with local governments,” a police official said, explaining that the agency expects people to flock to Mapo and Gangnam districts instead of Itaewon and its neighboring area in Yongsan District this year.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Here is a regulation that I did not realize Seoul enforces on people camping along the Han River:

As growing numbers of people visit parks along the Han River for autumn picnics, Seoul city’s current regulation, which forces them to leave two sides of a tent open at riverside picnic areas is sparking debate over privacy concerns.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government allows tents at designated picnic areas in Han River parks during scheduled times under the condition that at least two sides of a tent remain open at all times.

The city government established the regulation in its April 2019 ordinance, in response to growing complaints regarding indescrete public displays of affection inside the tents and waste problems, according to the city government’s team which is in charge of park management. Seoul is the only local government nationwide that imposes such a restriction.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It is a bit surprising that business has not fully returned back to normal yet in Itaewon when it has almost been a year since the crowd crushing tragedy. According to the article there is still a fear that Itaewon is not safe to visit after the tragedy:

A banner with the phrase “Safety Itaewon” hangs on the building of the Itaewon Special Tourism Zone Association in Itaewon, Seoul, to promote volunteer patrols, Aug. 29. Korea Times photo by Jung Da-hyun

Approximately 10 months after the tragic Halloween crowd crush that claimed 159 lives, there are, once again, visible green shoots growing in Itaewon, one of the main nightlife districts in Seoul, which had been struggling to attract visitors. 

However, the extent of the recovery, boosted by various projects to revive the district, is a contrasting story, depending on the type of business.

On a recent Friday night, the streets of Itaewon came alive with bar staff promoting their establishments in an alley behind the Hamilton Hotel, which is near the location of the deadly accident. The streets were filled with loud music and visitors, while foreign tourists could be seen walking around and capturing the lively scene on their phones.

According to a report in July, by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, sales of Itaewon shops recovered to approximately 85 percent of pre-crowd-crush levels, signaling a positive shift.

In addition, the average number of visitors to Itaewon per week in May, the latest available figure, stood at 75.6 percent compared to that of the fourth week of October last year, which was one week before the tragedy, based on telecom operator KT’s statistics.

As part of efforts to entice people back to Itaewon and revive businesses in the area, the Yongsan-gu Office introduced vouchers in March. The vouchers, used as cash, provided customers with a 20 percent discount at local businesses in the district.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears some snowflakes in Seoul were scared of a few ROK Army helicopters flying by:

Republic of Korea Army Apache attack helicopters fly over Seoul, Monday, during a tactical flight training exercise.

Military aircraft spotted in the skies above Seoul recently have left residents confused and scared, with some mistaking the roaring sounds of fighter jets for a North Korean invasion.

The South Korean Army’s Apache attack helicopters conducted a tactical flight training exercise over central Seoul, including the areas near City Hall and Seoul Station, Monday morning. 

“The helicopters were so loud and they flew quite near the office buildings. My colleagues and I got a little nervous,” said an office worker surnamed Yoo, 32, who works in central Seoul. 

Although he received a notice from the Seoul Metropolitan Government about the training in advance, he did not expect the helicopters to fly so close to his office.  

“I received the text alert around 9 a.m., which read that a flyover will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. across Seoul. This is too vague, I think they should have given some detailed information,” Yoo said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Is everyone ready for subway stations named after companies? If there was a ROK Drop station which one do readers think it should be?:

Starting in September, Yeouido Station on Seoul Metro’s Line 9 will bear an additional name ― Shinhan Securities. This follows Shinhan Securities’ successful bid to acquire naming rights for the station. As a result, Shinhan Securities will now be associated with both Yeouido Stations on Lines 5 and 9, which are at the heart of Korea’s financial business district.

The association of a firm’s name with Yeouido Station is symbolic, given that the area houses more than 14 securities firms and numerous other financial institutions. The station also sees over 3 million users monthly.

This so-called “second name” can be acquired for metro stations through Seoul Metro’s auction system. When a company or institution wins the bid, its name will appear alongside the original station name, enclosed in brackets. This name is also announced on trains and displayed on various road and station signs.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This might be interesting to check out the next time I am in Seoul:

Self-driving transit buses are expanding their presence in Seoul, as the city introduced, Wednesday, a new route in Yeouido, western Seoul. It is the city’s fifth autonomous bus service route.

At 12 p.m., a Hyundai Solati, a diesel minibus accommodating up to 13 people, took to the road around the National Assembly and it drove a round trip of 3.1 kilometers that featured six stops around the parliament. 

Two autonomous buses run every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday, but they do not operate on statutory holidays and weekends. 

Those who want to ride the bus need a smartphone app called TAP!, where users can pre-book a ride by setting their departure and destination.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The Seoul Queer Culture Festival will go on as planned this year, but in Seoul’s Euljiro neighborhood:

This year’s Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF) will be held as scheduled on July 1 in downtown Seoul’s Euljiro area due to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s disapproval of its event taking place at Seoul Plaza, according to the festival organizer, Wednesday.

“The (festival’s) use of Seoul Plaza was disapproved by the discriminatory administration of the Seoul Metropolitan Government,” Yang Sun-woo, chairperson of the SQCF organizing committee, said during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday. “The 24th SQCF and parade will be held in the Euljiro 2-ga area.”

The SQCF, which was launched in 2000 with around 50 participants in the capital’s northeastern Daehangno area, grew in size over the years, eventually settling in Seoul Plaza in 2015, one of the biggest public squares in the capital. This will be the first edition of the event to not be held there since 2015 except for the two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as the city government rejected the committee’s request to use the city square in favor of a youth concert by the Christian Television System (CTS) Culture Foundation instead. 

In response, the committee filed a notice of assembly for the Euljiro area to secure an alternative venue. One month prior to the event, 64 activists and supporters took turns lining up at three police stations in the jurisdiction of the locations for 89 hours to receive police authorization for use of the public space. As permission is granted on a first-come, first-serve basis, they had to compete with Christian activists also lining up to book the same spaces in order to deny them a venue, according to Yang. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see what venue they are able to book this year for the SQCF:

A giant rainbow flag is carried aloft by participants at the Seoul Queer Culture Festival in Seoul Plaza, central Seoul, June 1, 2019. The event was joined by over 180,000 LGBTQ people and supporters combined. Courtesy of Seoul Queer Culture Festival organizing committee

For an estimated 2.5 million Koreans identifying themselves as sexual minorities, the annual Seoul Queer Culture Festival (SQCF) is the long-awaited “national queer holiday,” a rare occasion where they feel safe and encouraged to gather and express their identity.

The festival, which celebrates its 24th anniversary this year, started in 2000 with 50 participants on a road in northeastern Seoul’s Daehangno area. The event grew to over 135,000 participants last year, and despite opposition and interference by conservative Christians, it seemed to have nestled at Seoul Plaza, one of the biggest public venues in the capital.

However, the festival now has to find an alternative venue this year, after the Seoul Metropolitan Government earlier this month disapproved the use of the city square for the upcoming festival. 

This two-decade evolution of the SQCF has been a “journey of finding a public space where the country’s LGBTQ communities can be and show who they are,” Yang Sun-woo, the chairperson of the SQCF organizing committee, said during an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.

Yang, an activist at the Korean Sexual Minority Culture and Rights Center, has been taking part in the SQCF since she joined it in 2005 as a staff member of the Korea Queer Film Festival, a part of the SQCF. She has been in her current position since 2015.

Amid opposition from conservative Christians and merchants, the festival had to find one venue after another across the capital ― from Daehangno to Itaewon to Cheonggye Stream to Sinchon ― to house the growing queer community and its supporters, she said.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.