"Daejeon Midnight Festival, 1.1 Million Visitors... Largest Single Event in the Region"

The ‘Daejeon Midnight Festival’ concluded successfully. Since the 1993 Daejeon Expo, the festival recorded the highest number of visitors, indicating potential for future growth.

Provided by Daejeon City

On the 21st, Daejeon City held a briefing on the festival results (achievements). During the briefing, the city introduced that an estimated 1.1 million visitors participated in the festival from the 11th to the 17th.

In particular, Daejeon City explained that it was identified that 7 out of 10 visitors came from regions outside of Daejeon.

At the briefing, Daejeon City highlighted the festival’s achievements as ▲the ‘highest number of visitors’ for a single event since the 1993 Daejeon Expo ▲a ‘safe’ festival with no accidents ▲an ‘economic revitalization’ festival that boosted the old downtown economy ▲and the creation of a ‘clean venue’ with no trash.

The estimated visitor count (over 1.1 million) was calculated by statistically analyzing on-site counter surveys and subway ridership data. A notable point from the analysis is that 70% of the total visitors to the festival site were tourists from outside Daejeon. This figure is based on big data analysis from mobile phone carriers, supporting Daejeon City’s explanation that the festival was highly effective in attracting tourists.

Daejeon City plans to officially announce a comprehensive analysis result later, which combines big data from mobile phone carriers with data on transportation usage and festival evaluation reports to provide more objective visitor statistics.

The festival is also meaningful in that it concluded without a single safety incident despite the large crowds.

Earlier, Daejeon City took the Itaewon incident as a lesson and thoroughly prepared safety measures. Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon emphasized, “The success or failure of the festival depends on safety,” and focused on securing safety inside and outside the venue.

Provided by Daejeon City

In fact, during the festival, Daejeon City deployed 372 safety management personnel and 119 emergency medical teams on-site daily to prepare for any emergencies. They also utilized an AI-based selective surveillance system to manage crowd density in real time, contributing to the accident-free festival.

The festival also contributed to revitalizing the old downtown economy. Ingredients in the food zones sold out early, and stores in the buildings reportedly achieved sales more than twice their usual daily amounts.

There were continuous queues at restaurants, and Daejeon City confirmed that some stores recorded daily sales exceeding 20 million KRW.

There were no issues with price gouging inside or outside the festival grounds, which had recently become a social issue. On the contrary, a food zone offering unlimited draft beer refills for 10,000 KRW appeared, receiving positive responses from tourists.

Daejeon City plans to announce objective and accurate results next month based on credit card sales data and surveys of merchants to prove the economic effect on the old downtown during the festival period.

Additionally, the festival is evaluated as successful for being a clean festival without trash. This is because the food zones, which operated until dawn, and the 1 km-long event area maintained a clean environment throughout the festival period.

Citizens are enjoying the concert held on the special stage of the 'Daejeon Midnight Festival'. Provided by Daejeon City

Daejeon City explained that maintaining a clean environment was possible because environmental management personnel and volunteers on-site frequently emptied recycling bins and cleaned up trash within the venue.

As this was the first festival of its kind, there are areas for improvement. Daejeon City reported that a total of 1,959 complaints were received during the one-week festival period, with the majority related to city bus issues. Additionally, many complaints were received regarding traffic flow and illegal parking.

However, Daejeon City noted that most complaints were concentrated in the early part of the festival and decreased relatively toward the end.

Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon said, “We will strive to enhance the content competitiveness of the ‘Daejeon Midnight Festival’ through selection and concentration,” adding, “Above all, we plan to upgrade the festival content and present a blueprint in the second half of this year so that the ‘Daejeon Midnight Festival’ can grow into a global festival.”

Meanwhile, the festival was held from the 11th to the 17th along a 1 km section from Daejeon Station to the old Chungnam Provincial Office, including Jungang-ro and nearby old downtown commercial areas.

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