The Seoul city government will move in earnest to boost the nighttime economy, aiming in five years to generate an additional 5 trillion won in spending and attract 30 million foreign tourists. By increasing the use and hours of public facilities so residents can enjoy late-night routines, and by offering diverse content, the city seeks to drive more visits to neighborhoods and longer stays. The idea is to make Seoul a vibrant 24-hour city every day.
Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, on the 20th announced "Seoul, a 24-hour vibrant economy city" at City Hall.
The "24-hour vibrant economy city, Seoul" plan announced that day is a comprehensive "nighttime economy activation" policy, a key initiative of Mayor Oh in his ninth-term administration. Every day from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day, it brings together culture, sports, tourism, and commercial districts as well as transportation, safety, cleanliness, and hygiene through consolidation. It is a city strategy that creates evenings for residents to enjoy health, culture, and leisure, gives tourists reasons to stay longer in Seoul, and provides small businesses new opportunities where increased visits and longer stays lead to sales.
The city said the comprehensive plan focuses on expanding residents' "time of life" and Seoul's "time of economy" together. Based on these two pillars, evenings will be run with vitality, nights with appeal, and early mornings with safety.
To make this concrete, the city plans to gradually reshape Seoul's nighttime environment around four themes: a night in which everyday life becomes richer for residents; a night that keeps people longer with Seoul's unique appeal; an orderly night free of worries about mobility, safety, and cleanliness; and a sustainable night built together.
Oh said, "We will verify results with numbers," adding, "In five years, we will aim to generate an additional 5 trillion won in annual nighttime spending, attract 30 million foreign tourists, and raise the share of nighttime sales for small businesses to at least 50%."
◇ Public sports facilities open until midnight… Cultivating DDP, Namsan, Gwanghwamun, and the Han River as the "four major landmarks"
The starting point of Seoul's nighttime economy model is "residents' lives." The city will extend the hours of public facilities so residents can exercise nearby without burden, enjoy culture, and relax with family. It will operate 269 sports facilities run by the city, districts, schools, and parks until as late as midnight depending on each site's conditions. It will improve lighting and amenities at 259 sports facilities along the Han River and its tributaries so they can be used late at night.
It will also expand the 7979 Seoul running crews and themed running programs, and increase "Fun Stations," which utilize idle subway spaces, to 18 locations. These will be built as lifestyle-integrated wellness spaces where people can exercise, shower, and rest along their daily routes.
Neighborhood nighttime attractions and cultural hours will also be expanded. The city will increase "Seoul Mulbit Naru" sites that utilize waterfront spaces from the current 19 to 40 by 2030, and by 2028 will create nighttime attractions in each of the 25 districts that reflect local characteristics. From September, it will expand the current one-night-per-week late opening at eight cultural facilities, including city museums and art museums, to five nights per week, operating until 9 p.m., in stages.
DDP, Namsan, Gwanghwamun, and the Han River will be cultivated as Seoul's four major nighttime landmarks.
Starting in September, DDP will pilot "DDP 365 Light" and integrate fashion, design, food, and shopping to build a year-round nighttime hub where people linger. Namsan will be developed into a downtown healing spot that combines forest and night views through Baekbeom Square's "sentimental camp-nic," a nighttime foliage path, and a "firefly garden."
Gwanghwamun will be made into a nighttime space where history and media art blend by linking Lights of Gratitude, Seoul Light Gwanghwamun, City Canvas, and performances at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. The Han River will be developed into a year-round nighttime attraction by expanding Han River "bamping," drone light shows, and the light island festival. The city will improve Ttukseom's landscape lighting and, in 2027, develop the Jamwon–Dongho Bridge section into "Lake of Light, Seoul Dongho."
◇ A night free of worries about mobility, safety, and cleanliness… Building a foundation for sustainable operations
The city will also push measures to enjoy Seoul's nights safely. Rather than merely extending leisure hours and leaving the trip home, safety, and cleanliness to residents, it will treat late-night transportation, policing, emergency response, and street cleanliness as a single nighttime living infrastructure and reinforce them together.
From October, in addition to existing late-night buses (N buses), the city will run late-night "firefly buses" that connect major nighttime attractions and subway stations such as Hongdae, Gwanghwamun, DDP, Myeong-dong, and Gangnam. After launch, it will analyze demand and congestion; routes with high demand will get more buses, and it will consider expanding routes in connection with next year's city bus network overhaul.
Major nighttime hubs that draw large crowds will be designated priority management zones, and AI-based crowd-detection CCTV will be used to monitor density and congestion in real time. The city will establish an emergency medical response system by hub that links the city government with public health centers, fire services, and hospitals to detect risks early and respond quickly in emergencies. In areas with many foreign tourists and in major commercial districts, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's regional preventive patrol unit will be deployed, and from next year, the city will introduce "Seoul security officers" to strengthen patrols.
Cleanliness management will also be strengthened. In areas with high nighttime foot traffic, the city will deploy 150 members of a rapid-cleaning team, and with districts and merchants' associations, it will put in place a management system that responds quickly to street cleanliness issues.
The city will also build an operational foundation for a sustainable nighttime economy. With implementation targeted for January next year, it will prepare a "basic ordinance to activate the nighttime economy" that sets the overall policy direction and support basis, and in September it will launch the "Seoul Nighttime Economy Committee" to advise on the master plan, co-prosperity zones, and regulatory improvements. It will also analyze various indicators to expand programs proven effective and supplement those with issues.
Oh said, "We will consolidate the vitality that begins with residents' rich evenings into opportunities for tourism and neighborhood commercial districts," adding, "We will boldly open the city's doors, while managing mobility and safety, cleanliness, and resident co-prosperity even more meticulously, to build 'Seoul, a 24-hour vibrant economy city' where residents' lives and the city's competitiveness grow together."