[Report] Ramen Bowls Rolling Around and Cigarette Butts Everywhere... Han River Park Covered in Trash

Piles of Trash Around Garbage Bins
'No Smoking' Sign Beside Restroom Surrounded by Cigarette Butts
3 to 5 Times More Than Usual Due to Spring Visitors

On the evening of the 10th around 8 p.m., I visited Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul. After walking about 10 minutes from Exit 2 of Yeouinaru Station to the park, two 2.5-ton trash bins emitting a foul odor caught my eye. Delivery food containers, PET bottles, and plastic bags were mixed together, overflowing above the bins to form a trash tower.

Civilians carrying bags filled with delivery food containers glanced around the full trash bins, then threw their trash onto the concrete floor and left. Within just two hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., a massive trash island formed within a 300-meter radius of the bins.

On the afternoon of the 10th, a 2.5-ton trash bin placed at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul was piled high with garbage. The nearby concrete floor was also filled with trash.
[Photo by Lee Ji-eun]

The situation was no different on the grassy area where citizens had spread out mats and were lying down. Trash bags containing delivery utensils like forks and spoons, as well as disposable bowls with ramen, were scattered on the grass, littering the ground with every step. Flower beds planted with colorful pansies were surrounded by discarded water bottles and aluminum cans. When a citizen lightly tapped the flower bed and passed by, a beverage bottle tipped over, spilling the remaining drink.

In the plaza, flyers with citizens’ footprints were stuck in clumps over the drainage grates. Near the restrooms, there was barely any space to step due to cigarette butts discarded by visitors. Two men in their 20s smoked in front of a restroom wall marked as a no-smoking area, then threw their cigarette butts on the floor and left.

Recently, Yeouido Hangang Park has been experiencing a "trash crisis" due to the influx of spring visitors. Although the spring flower festival ended on the 2nd, the delayed cherry blossom bloom has kept citizens coming, and park officials are busy managing the trash.

On the 10th, citizens are smoking near the restroom at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, where a no-smoking sign is posted. Cigarette butts are scattered all over the ground.
[Photo by Lee Ji-eun]

According to Seoul City, from the 29th of last month to the 7th of this month, a total of 101 tons of trash was collected from Hangang Parks across Seoul. Of this, 25 tons and 12 tons were discarded on the 7th and 10th respectively. Considering that the usual daily amount of trash at Hangang Parks is 4 to 5 tons, this represents an increase of nearly 3 to 5 times.

Trash at Hangang Parks is cleaned up by the cleaning staff belonging to the Hangang Park Center under Seoul City’s Future Hangang Headquarters. Seoul has a total of 11 Hangang Park Centers, and the largest, Yeouido Center, employs 23 cleaning workers. They work in shifts from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., cleaning an area equivalent to 75 soccer fields, covering 1.49 square kilometers of riverside and plaza.

However, during times like these when crowds surge, the workforce is severely insufficient. Moreover, since the entire cleaning staff works in shifts, there are effectively only about 14 to 17 workers during the day and 6 to 7 workers in the evening cleaning the 1.49 square kilometer area, according to officials.

On the 10th, trash left by citizens was found on flower beds and lawns at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul.
[Photo by Lee Ji-eun]

A representative from Seoul City’s Future Hangang Headquarters explained, "When the 2.5-ton trash bins called ‘apdolbakseu’ are emptied at the transfer station, trash piles up again within 30 minutes. The afternoon shift focuses on cleaning restrooms, and each restroom produces one 200-liter trash bag."

He added, "After about six evening shift workers finish cleaning 24 restrooms around Yeouido Hangang Park, they complain of extreme physical fatigue. Because trash piles up like mountains, some workers even take painkillers while working due to body pain."

As the overflowing trash causes physical strain, each Hangang Park Center is playing announcements to guide citizens on trash separation and food waste disposal. Above all, there is a call for citizens to cultivate a sense of civic responsibility.

A Future Hangang Headquarters official said, "Seoul City is making efforts to maintain restroom cleanliness and other conveniences in Hangang Parks for citizens. We hope citizens will refrain from ordering delivery food and take their trash with them when leaving the park, paying more attention to these matters."