To ring in the 2026 New Year, singer Sean, Yang Hee-eun, and track and field athlete Namadi Joel Jin will strike the Boshingak "New Year's Eve bell."
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 25th it will hold the "New Year's Eve bell-ringing ceremony" around Boshingak in Jongno District at 11 p.m. on the 31st.
Eleven citizens who conveyed various hopes to society this year will take part in the 33 bell strikes that usher in the New Year. ▲ Kim Gwi-seon, who has volunteered for 25 years as a suicide prevention phone counselor at Incheon "Lifeline" ▲ Kim Ssang-sik, head of Happy Bakery in Namhae County, South Gyeongsang Province, who gives free bread to students on their way to school ▲ Lee Bok-dan, who has delivered boxed meals for 15 years while caring for a family member with a disability ▲ Jeong Yeong-jun, a Do Won Transportation driver of a Seoul city bus who saved a passenger and a passerby twice with CPR ▲ Namadi Joel Jin, the first gold medalist in a world competition in the history of Korea's track and field relay ▲ Park Jong-chan, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) program to upgrade the Korean launch vehicle ▲ Yoon Seok-deok, developer of the pink and green pavement color guidance lines ▲ Ha Jae-heon, a DMZ wooden-box mine victim and para rowing athlete ▲ singer Sean, a philanthropist ▲ singer Yang Hee-eun ▲ and Jeong Se-rang, author of the bestseller "The school nurse files."
A variety of media performances will unfold in sync with the 33 strikes at this event. Numbers will appear on the roof of Boshingak along with the countdown shouted by citizens, and dynamic countdown videos will play on LED screens and the Standard Chartered Bank Korea electronic display. After the countdown, at midnight, a media facade visualizing the grandeur of the bell sound will be screened on the front of the Boshingak building.
For about 50 minutes before the bell-ringing, the stage set up at Boshingak will feature performances by winners of the K-Performance Grand Prize, a pansori performance, and a choral performance. After the bell-ringing, Crying Nut will take the stage to join citizens at the scene for a vigorous start to 2026, the Year of the Red Horse.
On the day of the event, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will deploy more than 820 safety management personnel around Boshingak. Related agencies, including police, will provide more than 1,700 additional personnel. The city will operate a medical booth and four warm shelters.
Forty-seven city bus routes that pass near Boshingak will be detoured from 6 p.m. on the 31st to 7 a.m. on Jan. 1. Jonggak Station on subway Line No. 1, the station closest to the venue, will pass through without stopping from 11 p.m. on the 31st to 1 a.m. the next day.
Seoul Metro will deploy 160 employees—more than the usual 28—at nine nearby stations, including Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun Station, to maintain order and assist with the use of facilities such as single-ride ticket machines.
To ensure a safe return home for citizens after the late-night event, the Seoul subway and city buses that pass near the venue will all extend service until 2 a.m. the next day.