The 2026 Seoul International Fireworks Festival will take place on Oct. 5 around Yeouido Hangang Park. With the massive event that draws more than 1 million people every year approaching, the Yeouido area is already bustling early.
Ahead of the Yeouido fireworks festival, what people care about most is finding a "best spot." Yeouido Hangang Park is the best place to see the fireworks, but you have to push through a huge crowd. To secure a prime spot, waiting from early morning is a given.
Ichon Hangang Park, Mapo Hangang Park, high-rise buildings around Yeouido, and riverside apartments are also cited as prime spots for viewing the fireworks. On the day of the show, it is not uncommon for prime spots to be sold for hundreds of thousands of won.
On the day of the fireworks festival, quite a few National Assembly staffers and aides clock in, even though it is a weekend. Although it is some distance from Yeouido Hangang Park, where the fireworks are held, the lawmakers' office building, the National Assembly Museum, and the Riverside Study, which are relatively high-rise inside the National Assembly, offer an easy view of the show.
The National Assembly has many restricted-access areas, and being at the far end of West Yeouido means fewer spectators, which helps make for a comfortable viewing experience. One Assembly aide said, "From corner lounges on higher floors like the ninth or 10th in the lawmakers' office building, you can see the bursts clearly," adding, "Some aides step out briefly from work to watch, while quite a few come timed exactly for the fireworks."
They say it is not unheard of to come with acquaintances. To enter internal National Assembly buildings such as the lawmakers' office building, you need a visitor pass, and some people secure visitor passes for their acquaintances in advance as if they came for business. A former aide said, "Only staff can enter the National Assembly Members' Office Building, but I once filled out visitor passes beforehand and went in with acquaintances to watch the fireworks," adding, "But watching from inside the building actually made the view feel cramped, so in the end we gathered on the hill near Sarangjae to watch."
The hill with Sarangjae and the Riverside Study is open to the general public. In flat Yeouido, it is relatively elevated, so the fireworks can be seen more comfortably above buildings and trees.
Of course, most Assembly aides consider the Yeouido fireworks a world apart from their reality. September, when the fireworks are held, marks the start of the regular session, with reviews of next year's budget bill and tax reform bill and preparation for the National Assembly's audits of government agencies ahead, pushing aides' fatigue to the limit. This year, with Minister confirmation hearings also looming, the workload is even heavier.
An aide to a ruling party lawmaker shook a head, saying, "On the day of the fireworks festival, you can't even drive near Yeouido, and public transportation is hard to use, so it's better not to come anywhere near."