Mapo-gu, 2021 Haneul Park Sunrise Event Fully Canceled

January 1 Sunrise Event Scheduled Canceled Amid COVID-19 Spread... Despite Raising to Level 2.5, Severe COVID-19 Spread Leads to Online Event Cancellation

Mapo-gu Mayor Yudonggyun is playing Daebuktago at the New Year's sunrise event at Haneul Park on January 1st this year.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) has decided to fully cancel the New Year's sunrise event, which has been held annually on January 1st at the summit of Haneul Park, due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) this year.

Originally, the district planned and prepared the '2021 Haneul Park Sunrise Event' to welcome the Year of the Ox (辛丑年) in 2021, but it could not overcome the surge of COVID-19 currently spreading widely in Seoul and the metropolitan area.

The district intended to hold the sunrise event online at least, allowing residents who have faced economic and mental hardships due to COVID-19 throughout the year to watch the first sunrise of the new year and pray for hope and wishes.

However, despite the recent government’s elevation of social distancing to level 2.5, the unstoppable spread of COVID-19 led to the decision to fully cancel even this plan.

The Haneul Park Sunrise Event, one of Mapo-gu’s representative citizen cultural festivals, has been held every January 1st at sunrise time at the summit of Haneul Park, a major sunrise viewing spot and natural ecological park in Seoul.

Every year, thousands of participants joined programs such as ▲writing New Year's wish notes ▲New Year's hope Sinmyeongpuri performance ▲sharing blessings ▲sunrise viewing ▲and experiencing traditional drum playing (Daebuk Tago) to take part in the Haneul Park Sunrise Event.

Following the cancellation decision, the district plans to focus more on next year’s projects aimed at residents who have been economically and mentally strained due to COVID-19.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “Although the New Year’s sunrise event for the Year of the Ox has been canceled, we will prepare projects for residents without delay regardless of the COVID-19 situation. In particular, we will focus more on quarantine and epidemiological investigations to overcome COVID-19, resident health management services, and efforts to revitalize the local economy.”

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