[One Day 10,000 Steps] Which Walking Trails and Hangang Parks Do Seoul Citizens Love?

Park Users' Walking Practice Rate 74% vs Non-Users 37%
Park Usage Time, Nowon-gu 19.5 min 1st vs Eunpyeong-gu 6.2 min Last
Popular Trails: Jungnangcheon, Cheonggyecheon, Uicheon
Hangang Parks, Walking Spots like Ttukseom, Gwangnaru, Ichon

Seoul citizens were found to stay longer and walk more in areas with many parks and green spaces compared to other areas. Among the 25 autonomous districts of Seoul, Nowon-gu ranked first in per capita park usage time with 19.5 minutes, while Eunpyeong-gu recorded the lowest at 6.2 minutes. Popular walking trails included Jungnangcheon Trail, Uicheon Trail, Dorimcheon Park, Cheonggyecheon Trail, Yangjae Neighborhood Park, and Olympic Park. Among Han River parks, Ttukseom Hangang Park ranked first in terms of number of users and revisit rate, while Gwangnaru Hangang Park ranked first in duration of stay.

Cheonggyecheon, a walking hotspot favored by residents of four districts including Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Seongdong-gu, and Dongdaemun-gu, attracts 43,219 visitors annually (based on WalkOn users). [Asia Economy DB]

Swalabi, the operator of the walking platform 'WalkOn', analyzed data from 22,861 Seoul WalkOn subscribers in 2021 as part of a research project by the Seoul Public Health and Medical Foundation. A significant correlation was found between physical activity and park usage among Seoul citizens. The top five districts with the highest walking practice rates (Nowon-gu, Dongjak-gu, Guro-gu, Gangdong-gu, Gwanak-gu) have 119 parks per district, and residents visited parks 7.9 times per month on average. This group’s walking practice rate was 55.1%, with an average daily step count of 5,167 steps. Conversely, the bottom five districts in walking practice rate (Yongsan-gu, Geumcheon-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Seocho-gu, Jung-gu) have 107 parks per district, and residents visited parks 6.6 times per month. This group’s walking practice rate was 48.9%, with an average daily step count of 4,672 steps, about 90% of the top group’s level.

Park users showed significantly higher walking practice rates than non-users. The walking practice rate among park users was 74% annually, while it was only 37% for non-users. Per capita park usage time by district was highest in Nowon-gu (19.5 minutes per day), Dobong-gu (16.6 minutes), and Seongdong-gu (16.0 minutes). Districts with the lowest per capita park usage time were Eunpyeong-gu (6.2 minutes), Jung-gu (6.5 minutes), and Geumcheon-gu (8.4 minutes). On weekdays, an average of 31.6% of WalkOn users visited parks, while 30.5% visited on weekends. By time of day, the highest visitor proportion was in the afternoon (12 PM?4 PM) at 29%, followed by evening (4 PM?8 PM) at 26%, morning (8 AM?12 PM) at 25%, night (8 PM?12 AM) at 10%, and early morning (12 AM?4 AM) at 1%.

The park with the highest annual number of users analyzed from WalkOn data was Jungnangcheon Trail (65,888 users, averaging 180 per day). This was followed by Dorimcheon Park (45,059 annually, 123 daily average) and Cheonggyecheon Trail (43,219 annually, 118 daily average). Other popular parks included Uicheon Trail (38,057 users), Danghyeoncheon Trail (18,884 users), Olympic Park (18,365 users), Anyangcheon Park (17,101 users), Ttukseom Hangang Park (14,793 users), Ichon Hangang Park (14,545 users), and Surim Grand Park (12,488 users). The highest revisit rate (percentage of visitors returning two or more times) was at Onsu Urban Nature Park in Guro-gu, reaching 66.4%, followed by Danghyeoncheon Trail in Nowon-gu (66.1%) and Songpa Bongnamu Neighborhood Park (66.1%). Other parks with revisit rates above 60% included Hwagok 3rd District Children's Park 2 (65.38%), Beodnamu Children's Park (65.12%), Uicheon Trail (64.78%), Wanseonggun Igwi Jeongmyo (64.71%), Ujangsan Park (64.29%), Kkwonggogae Park (63.41%), and Geumcheon Sports Park (63.38%).

Seoul Gwangjin-gu Ttukseom Hangang Park had the highest annual number of users (based on WalkOn users) at 14,973, but the average stay time was less than 30 minutes, showing low engagement. [Asia Economy DB]

The survey results on popular parks by residential area were also interesting. Cheonggyecheon Trail was ranked highest in Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Seongdong-gu, and Dongdaemun-gu. Jungnangcheon Trail ranked first in Jungnang-gu, Dobong-gu, and Nowon-gu, while Uicheon Trail ranked first in Seongbuk-gu and Gangbuk-gu. Yangjaecheon Park was favored in Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, Olympic Park in Gangdong-gu and Songpa-gu, and Dorimcheon Park in Yeongdeungpo-gu and Gwanak-gu. Additionally, popular parks included: Icheon Hangang Park in Yongsan-gu, Seoul Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin-gu, Yeokchon Park in Eunpyeong-gu, Seodaemun Independence Park in Seodaemun-gu, Mangwon Hangang Park in Mapo-gu, Gongam Naru Neighborhood Park in Gangseo-gu, Anyangcheon Park in Yangcheon-gu, Anyangcheon in Guro-gu, Geumcheon Narae Park in Geumcheon-gu, and Dorimcheon Park in Gwanak-gu.

There is also an analysis of usage status for Han River parks, Seoul’s representative parks. The Han River parks are divided into a total of 12 parks, but the small Seonyudo area was included in the Yanghwa area, resulting in a total of 11 zones analyzed. In terms of annual number of users, Ttukseom Hangang Park (14,973 users), Ichon Hangang Park (14,545 users), and Jamwon Hangang Park (11,859 users) ranked high, while Nanji Hangang Park (2,019 users), Jamsil Hangang Park (903 users), and Gangseo Hangang Park (646 users) ranked low. The annual user difference between Ttukseom Park and Gangseo Park was about 14,300 users. In revisit rates, Ttukseom Hangang Park (49.9%), Ichon Hangang Park (48.7%), and Yanghwa Hangang Park (46.6%) ranked high, while Jamsil Hangang Park (29.3%) was the lowest. Regarding duration of stay, Gwangnaru Hangang Park had the longest average visit time at 65 minutes, while Ttukseom Hangang Park (27 minutes) and Jamsil Hangang Park (27 minutes) had the shortest.

Han River parks were used more by males (60%) than females (40%). By age group, those aged 60 and over accounted for 51%, which was higher than those under 40 (19%) and those aged 40 to under 60 (30%). Yeouido Hangang Park, located in a business district, had more visitors on weekdays than weekends, while Nanji Hangang Park, Jamsil Hangang Park, and Gangseo Hangang Park, which are adjacent to large residential areas, had higher visitor proportions on weekends than weekdays. Other Han River parks showed similar distributions between weekdays and weekends.

Meanwhile, in four districts of Seoul, a total of 29,335 people participated in challenges in 2020, with 11,592 males and 17,743 females, making females 60% of participants. In Nowon-gu, females accounted for 71%, the highest proportion. Gangnam-gu held a total of 18 challenges, and among a sample of 1,125 people, 134 (12% participation rate) participated in at least one challenge. The average step count during the challenge period was 41,465 steps, a 14% increase compared to 36,330 steps during non-participation periods. Challenges with specific courses and locations had the effect of increasing visitor numbers. In November 2020, Seoul City and Dongdaemun-gu held a Cheonggyecheon walking challenge. The number of visitors to Cheonggyecheon in November was 7,422, a 36.5% increase compared to the previous month (5,437). Seoul City and Dongdaemun-gu also held a challenge at Naksan Park, where visitor numbers increased by 50.6% from 158 in the previous month to 238 during the challenge period. Challenges at Gyeongchun Forest Park and Uicheon Trail in Nowon-gu also saw visitor increases of 20% and 16%, respectively.