City prepares for fireworks festival to set Seoul's skies ablaze

Korea’s largest annual fireworks show, set to begin in Seoul at 8 p.m. on Saturday, is expected to draw around 1 million spectators.

Competition for the best viewing spots has been fierce since Saturday morning, with people reserving their place with mats and tarps on the riverbank. Police warned that they would remove any unattended mats starting at noon.

The Seoul International Fireworks Festival, hosted by Hanwha Group, takes place every year in Yeouido District, western Seoul, along the Han River. This year’s show has been scheduled about three weeks earlier than usual, mainly because of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday later this month.

Under the theme “Find Your Light,” Saturday’s festival will feature fireworks from three countries: Korea, the United States and Britain. A prefestival event will also take place for the first time since the show launched in 2000.

On online secondhand marketplaces, numerous users have offered to sell their prime viewing spots, with prices ranging widely from under 100,000 won ($74) to more than 300,000 won.

In response to the crowds, the Seoul Metropolitan Government — coordinating with Hanwha, police, fire departments and other relevant agencies — will mobilize 6,800 personnel to oversee crowds and traffic around the site.

It will also establish operational command centers that double as emergency medical stations at six locations across the Yeouido and Ichon neighborhoods and deploy 45 patrol boats on the river.

During Saturday’s main event, the city will control traffic by closing Wonhyo Bridge from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. on Sunday and Yeouidong-ro from 3 p.m. to midnight.

A total of 24 bus routes passing through these restricted sections will be temporarily rerouted.

BY YONHAP, SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]