"What are you doing with wine in someone else's apartment?"..."To watch the fireworks festival"

Yeouido Residents Complain of Suffering Due to 'Fireworks Festival'
"Blocking My Door to Watch", "Leaving Trash Behind"

On the 5th, during the 'Seoul International Fireworks Festival' held around Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, some inconsiderate individuals trespassed into nearby apartment complexes, causing inconvenience to the residents.

On the 6th, many stories were posted on the Yeouido residents' community about various inconveniences caused by outsiders entering apartments near the fireworks festival site. A person identifying themselves as resident A of Yeouido Shibeom Apartments wrote in a post titled "Fireworks Festival Nuisance Hangang-side Residents," "A couple with clearly dyed yellow hair, who were obviously not residents, boldly came to our front door and were watching the fireworks festival," adding, "They were so inconsiderate that I sternly told them to leave, and they did, but they are surely watching from another floor." They continued, "It was noisy all day, and I have to pick up my child soon, but this kind of nuisance is beyond belief," and added, "If there are Yeouido residents who kindly allow outsiders to watch, it shouldn't be allowed. Such experiences(?) will spread quickly, and even more people will come next year."

On the 5th, an outsider was drinking wine in the hallway of an apartment near the festival site during the 'Seoul World Fireworks Festival' held around Yeouido. [Image source: Capture from Naver Cafe 'Yeouido Saramgwa Geonmul']

In the comments on that post, another Yeouido resident wrote, "Four women in their 20s were preparing to camp out in front of my house early on, so I told them, 'This is a private home, you can't stay here like this.' They apologized and moved to another corridor, but when I said 'I'll call security,' they went to the stairway. When I came out a little later, I saw them at the stairway window... they are really something."

Another netizen, B, shared a frustrating experience. In a post titled "The Fireworks Festival is great, but the stress is..." they wrote, "I was about to open the front door and go out when something caught me by surprise. Someone had placed a chair outside my front door and was sitting there," adding, "When I told them this is my home and they shouldn't be there, they said, 'We won't put the chair down, we'll just watch from here.'" B continued, "They were so bold it was shocking. They claimed to be residents of the back building, so I wondered if I should tolerate it as a neighbor, but should I really tolerate them blocking my front door to watch? They left the flyers they had spread on the corridor floor behind and just left."

Another netizen, C, wrote, "Trespassing into someone else's apartment in Yeouido and watching the fireworks festival with a wine glass in the hallway," posting a photo showing someone holding a wine glass on the apartment hallway railing.

On the morning of the 6th, the day after the Seoul World Fireworks Festival, trash left by spectators the previous day is gathered at the garbage collection site under Wonhyo Bridge in Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As these posts continued, netizens left a series of critical comments such as, "There are too many people who don't have basic manners," "Their attitude of not even apologizing is more upsetting," "I can understand watching, but leaving trash behind is unacceptable," "I heard about the apartment rooftop tip, and I've seen several times people naturally entering the front door following residents but being stopped by security," and "Inconsiderate people cause unnecessary harm to others."

Every year during the fireworks festival, Yeouido residents face difficulties entering and exiting Yeouido, often refraining from going out or unable to park due to lack of space even in front of their own homes. They endure the pain caused by outsiders passing through apartment complexes, illegally dumping trash, making loud noises, and the noise from the fireworks.

Hosted by Hanwha Group, the 'Seoul International Fireworks Festival' marked its 20th anniversary this year. The festival took place on the 5th from 7:20 PM for about 90 minutes, featuring representative teams from Korea, the United States, and Japan. The organizers estimated that approximately 1.07 million spectators attended this year's fireworks festival.