Traffic Jams Across Seoul During Yeouido Fireworks Festival After 3 Years... "Use Public Transport and Detour Roads"

Traffic congestion begins in the Yeouido area. Photo by Naver Map application screen

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] As the Yeouido Fireworks Festival, which was suspended due to COVID-19, is held for the first time in three years, traffic congestion has already begun around Yeouido three hours before the festival starts. With congestion expected in various parts of Seoul, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the police are urging people to use public transportation and, if using vehicles, to take long-distance detours.

According to the police on the 8th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency will fully block Yeouidong-ro (from the south end of Mapo Bridge to in front of the 63 Building) from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. today, anticipating traffic congestion. If necessary, Yeouisangryu IC and Gukje Geumyung-ro will also be blocked.

The fireworks festival, which was suspended due to the COVID-19 situation, will be held around Yeouido from 7:20 p.m. today. As crowds gather from early afternoon, traffic congestion is intensifying in the area.

The police plan to strictly crack down, including towing, on vehicles illegally parked or stopped on Han River bridges, Gangbyeonbuk-ro, Olympic-daero, and other areas for viewing the fireworks festival.

To minimize traffic congestion around Yeouido during the '2022 Seoul World Fireworks Festival' held today, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will increase subway Line 5 and Line 9 services by 70 trips and deploy buses intensively. All 19 bus routes passing through Yeouidong-ro, including 2 village bus routes and 3 Gyeonggi buses, will operate on detour routes.

The detour routes include numbers 261, 262, 360, 461, 662, 753, 7613, 5633, 5634, 5713, 6623, 5615, 5618, and 7611. Accordingly, four bus stops in both directions at Yeouido Middle School and Yeouinaru will be temporarily unavailable during the event, but boarding and alighting will be possible at nearby stops along the detour routes.

The number of subway Line 5 operations will increase from 45 to 63 trips between 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., and Line 9 operations will increase from 140 to 192 trips between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Twenty-six bus routes passing through Yeouido Transfer Center, Yeouido Station, and Yeouinaru Station will also be intensively dispatched from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. to coincide with the event's end time.

At 16 stations around the event venue, including Yeouido Station and Yeouinaru Station, about 259 safety personnel?approximately five times the usual number?will be deployed.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said, "As vehicle congestion is expected on car-only roads around Yeouido and downtown areas such as Sejong-daero during the holiday period, please use public transportation such as the subway, and if using vehicles, take long-distance detours and carefully follow the traffic police's hand signals."