Police Quarantine Barriers, Merchants' Sales Cliff... The 'Wall of Tears' on Hangul Day

Police Install Barricades for Hangul Day Rally Following National Foundation Day
Merchants Near Gwanghwamun Feel 'Helpless' Ahead of Holiday
Police: "Barricades Installed with Plans to Minimize Citizen Inconvenience"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Intern Suhwan Kim] "What can we do? We have to open the store for now..."

On the afternoon of the 7th, Mr. Kim (59), who runs a restaurant near Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, sees the Gwanghwamun barricades as walls of lamentation. Since social distancing measures began, he had barely managed to keep his business open, but now he faces a mountain of worries ahead of the Hangul Day holiday starting on the 9th. On October 3rd, during National Foundation Day, the police set up large barricades to control gatherings, and Mr. Kim saw no customers all day at his store. "I was counting on business during the Hangul Day holiday, but they say they will put up barricades again. I will open the door for now, but the future looks bleak."

Not only Mr. Kim but most nearby merchants wore expressions of despair. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, business was already sluggish, and now large-scale rallies threaten to cause them to miss the holiday peak season. On National Foundation Day, the police deployed dozens of vehicles, including police buses, around Gwanghwamun to form barricades to block gatherings. While they succeeded in preventing crowds from gathering, merchants suffered huge losses.

Mr. Park, in his 50s, who runs a toast shop near Sejong-ro, abruptly led the reporter out onto the street when asked, "How do you think business will be on Hangul Day?" Pointing to an intersection in Dangju-dong, Jongno-gu, where many restaurants are located, and another intersection toward Sejong-ro, he explained, "Because the barricades blocked all access routes from both directions, there wasn’t even an ant on the street" during National Foundation Day.

On the 29th, fences to prevent illegal gatherings are being installed around Gwanghwamun Square and Sejong-ro in Jongno-gu, Seoul, as the Seoul Metropolitan Government continues to refuse permission for the October 3rd National Foundation Day rally. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Among the 17 stores visited around Gwanghwamun that day, 5 said they would close entirely on Hangul Day. Four said they would operate, while the rest were waiting for instructions from their headquarters or had not yet decided. Mr. Kim, in his 50s, who runs a hot pot restaurant in Dangju-dong, said, "During the National Foundation Day rally, I didn’t earn a single penny. There were so few customers that I closed early, and I think Hangul Day will be similar. It might be better to close completely to minimize losses..."

The sighs of ordinary people fail to cross the barricades, and only political debates rage in the square. Conservative groups criticize the police, citing past Constitutional Court rulings that barricades violate basic rights and are unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the police argue that if the principle of proportionality is observed, erecting barricades itself is not unconstitutional and poses no problem. After the police and Seoul city government announced the ban on rallies, the August 15 Emergency Measures Committee, which planned a rally of about 2,000 people, filed a suspension request with the Seoul Administrative Court. The court is expected to review the request on the 8th and issue a ruling within the day.

According to the police, as of noon the previous day, 1,210 rallies were reported in Seoul on Hangul Day and 1,193 on the 10th. The police issued bans on 137 and 132 rallies, respectively, which involved 10 or more people or were reported in prohibited areas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.