"It's amazing that there's a place in Seoul where you can dip your feet, and even under the blazing sun the water is as cold as a mountain stream, so I don't even feel the heat."
Meeting at Cheonggye Stream in Jung-gu, Seoul, at 11:30 a.m. on the 31st, Hwang Bo-ram, 44, said this. Hwang said the early morning trip from Gangwon Province, timed with her children's vacation, was worth it. Hwang said, "We were visiting indoor spots like museums and art museums, and came because we heard Cheonggye Stream would host the 'splash-splash' event for the first time."
A person surnamed Lim, 62, who said she walked about 40 minutes from Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, to Cheonggye Stream with her granddaughter, said, "We walked here sweating buckets, but the moment I dipped my feet in the cold water, the heat just vanished." Lim added, "The water is much colder than I expected and it feels like being at a swimming pool, so the child is asking to come again tomorrow."
Seoul City will run the 2026 Cheonggyecheon Water Splash-Splash, a hands-on summer festival for residents, for 10 days from today through Aug. 9. During the event, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., people can freely enjoy water play along a 120-meter section between Cheonggye Plaza Waterfall and Gwangtonggyo. When it was first held last year, more than 52,000 people visited.
Cheonggye Stream, an urban waterway, turned into something like a swimming pool starting today. Usually you can only dip your feet, but during the event you can go into the water. Chairs, tables and sunshades were set up along the stream. Water-play shoes are also available for free rental.
All along Cheonggye Stream, people who rented colorful water-play shoes walked back and forth over stepping-stones. They paddled and splashed one another to cool off. A daycare center visited as a group. Children's laughter didn't stop. Passersby, as well as foreign tourists, kept taking out their phones to film the water play.
A traveler from Italy, Noemi Valides, 34, said, "Europe was really hot this year, and there weren't many air conditioners indoors, so it was tough," adding, "But in downtown Seoul there's a place like a cool valley, and I'm really jealous."
Ingrid Kolkuil, 46, a student from the Netherlands, also said, "Summer in Korea is so humid that you sweat profusely everywhere," adding, "I've been getting by carrying a sun visor and sun spray, but everyone dipping their feet in Cheonggye Stream looks so bright that I came to try it too."
For safety, Seoul City removed moss twice before the event and conducted additional water quality checks. According to a Seoul City official, "A recent test of Cheonggye Stream's water quality rated it at the top level, grade 1, among the six river water quality categories."
Recently, Cheonggye Stream has faced controversy after a series of incidents, including some visitors sweeping up coins tossed for good luck and others bringing bath supplies to wash themselves, drawing frowns. Seoul City began deploying monitors from the day before alongside the festival. It also plans to prepare a system for imposing fines.
However, even on this day, a group of foreigners was having a drinking session about 2 kilometers from the event zone. They sat in a cluster along Cheonggye Stream, sharing cans of beer and talking loudly, but no one stopped them.
A Seoul City official said, "A total of 40 people are currently patrolling in shifts," adding, "When nuisance behavior occurs, we provide guidance, but it's hard to cover everything, so a mature level of civic awareness is also needed."