The Seoul city government said on the 23rd it will run a temporary campground, "Hangang Nightping (Night+Camping)," at Yeouido and Ttukseom Hangang Parks throughout August.
The temporary campground will be set up with 200 tents in total, 100 each on the lawn in front of the Mulbit Stage at Yeouido Hangang Park and the Hangang Ple Ple lawn at Ttukseom Hangang Park. Hours are daily from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day.
Campground users can bring their own four-person sunshades or tents, or rent them on-site. To offer more citizens a chance to use the facilities and to boost spillover consumption to nearby businesses, consecutive-night stays and cooking are restricted. It will operate on a reservation basis through a private platform, and the site use fee is free during the pilot period. On-site tent lending will be charged.
This campground setup is part of the ninth popularly elected administration's "nighttime economy revitalization policy," with the Hangang as the first target site. The Seoul city government judged that the Hangang, a signature summer retreat and a waterfront tourism and leisure space symbolizing Seoul, with high visitor demand and diverse cultural and leisure infrastructure, is the place that can most effectively showcase the potential of the nighttime economy.
Accordingly, it will present a new Hangang use model by linking existing assets—such as the Hangang bus, bicycles and other transportation, swimming pools, festivals, performances, movies, delivery services, and the temporary campground—into a single route so visitors can stay and enjoy from day into night and dawn.
The Seoul city government aims not merely to increase the number of nighttime events, but to organically connect transportation, leisure, culture, food, and camping experiences to grow both time spent at the Hangang and consumption.
First, the "nighttime DJing" (Pongdang Music) pilot run at the Yeouido Hangang Park pool on the second weekend of July will operate at the Yeouido Hangang pool every Fri., Sat. and Sun. from the 24th through Aug. 30. The closing time will also be extended from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. At the Nanji water park, "nighttime DJing" (Pongdang Music) will newly begin every Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting Aug. 8.
The Yeouido and Ttukseom Hangang pools and the Jamsil and Nanji water parks began nighttime openings on Jul. 3 and are operating daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Aug. 30.
Hangang Festival_Summer, a signature summer festival of Seoul, will also be concentrated at Yeouido and Ttukseom Hangang Parks. Plans include "Hangang Night Walk 42K," an unusual challenge of walking along the Hangang all night; a "silent DJ party" where participants dance to a DJ's music wearing wireless headsets; and the "movie theater under the Hangang bridge," where visitors can watch films in the river breeze.
Measures that can lead to increased consumption and local economic revitalization will also be pursued. In addition to the six existing delivery zones within Hangang Park, two temporary nighttime delivery zones will be added near the temporary campgrounds at Yeouido and Ttukseom Hangang Parks, bringing the total to eight.
Throughout August, eight delivery zones within Yeouido, Ttukseom, and Mangwon Hangang Parks will host the "Seoul Delivery + Ddangyo Hangang Delivery Zone Special Discount Event." Customers can receive discounts of up to 8,000 won on food orders. Including the Seoul Love Gift Certificate pre-discount and payback, the discount rate grows even larger.
To encourage visitors to go directly to commercial areas around the Hangang, key information, including the locations of 21 nearby traditional markets and alley-type shopping districts near the delivery zones at Yeouido, Ttukseom, and Mangwon Hangang Parks, will also be provided.
To prevent increases in trash and environmental burdens, citizen-participation eco-friendly programs will also run. Every Fri., Sat. and Sun. from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Yeouido Hangang Park event venue, an eco-mission will promote the use of reusable containers and the separation and discharge of household waste. Eco-miles earned through the mission can be used like cash for Seoul city tax payments (ETAX), purchases of Seoul Love and Onnuri gift certificates, gas bill payments, apartment maintenance fee payments, and donations.
In addition, safety management will be strengthened so visitors can stay at the Hangang at night and at dawn with peace of mind. Additional CC (closed-circuit) TVs will be installed around the temporary campground, and the control center will closely monitor the campground and nearby areas for risk situations. Lighting at nearby underpasses and walkways will also be brightened to improve nighttime pedestrian safety.
Park Jin-Young, head of the Future Hangang Bureau at the Seoul city government, said, "The Hangang is Seoul's most competitive nighttime economy asset, where mobility and rest, culture and tourism, and consumption are consolidated in one place," adding, "We will organically consolidation the Hangang bus, pools, festivals, delivery, and camping to create a new Hangang use culture where citizens and tourists stay and enjoy from day into dawn."