"530,000 Visitors Attend Four-Day Festival in Sinchon Yonsei-ro Area"

Sinchon Global University Culture Festival Increases Foot Traffic by 20.1%
Seodaemun-gu: "No Issues Even If General Vehicle Traffic Is Allowed on Yeonse-ro"

Students and young people from Korea and abroad enjoying the '2023 Sinchon Global University Culture Festival' (Photo by Seodaemun-gu Office)

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Seongheon) reported that the floating population increased by 20.1% compared to usual during the ‘2023 Sinchon Global University Culture Festival’ held from the 14th to the 17th at Yonsei-ro, Myeongmul Street, and Changcheon Culture Park in the Sinchon area.

According to the analysis of ‘floating population sensors’ installed at six major points near Yonsei-ro, the average floating population from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. over four days from Thursday to Sunday before the festival was 439,375 people. During the festival period (September 14?17), the floating population during the same hours increased by 88,445 people (20.1%) to 527,820 people. On average, this was an increase of 22,111 people per day.

To prevent deviations due to the day of the week, the district compared the festival days (Thursday to Sunday) with the same weekdays over the previous six weeks (August 1 to September 13).

Each sensor recognizes the unique identification numbers (MAC Addresses) of mobile phones within a 50-meter radius, and the district uses this information to accurately calculate the floating population.

Seodaemun-gu stated, “Despite rainy and cloudy weather, the floating population was higher during all time periods of the festival compared to before. The highest increase rate was 32% between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and the largest population count was 51,705 people between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.”

The ‘2023 Sinchon Global University Culture Festival,’ which involved international students, foreign embassies in Korea, universities, and the local community, featured a variety of events including the pre-event celebration performance by ‘Symphony Song,’ an opening parade, an opening ceremony attended by diplomats from 15 countries, the ‘World is One’ bibimbap performance, a world cuisine contest, and the Sinchon VIBE concert.

Additionally, various booths featuring global culture and tourism content were operated in the ▲Global Zone ▲World Food Zone ▲University Zone ▲Youth Zone, attracting many citizens.

In particular, the central planning team and working committee, composed of university students, participated in overall planning and operations, adding significance as an event ‘by youth, for youth.’

Mayor Lee Seongheon said, “We will develop the Sinchon Global University Culture Festival into a platform where young university students from Korea and around the world can exchange diverse cultural content from each country.” He also emphasized, “Through this festival, which started this year, we will strive to help the Sinchon area leap forward as a global commercial district.”

Meanwhile, Seodaemun-gu evaluated that this festival demonstrated that even with regular vehicle traffic on Yonsei-ro as it is now, large-scale cultural and artistic events can be held flexibly through the operation of ‘car-free streets.’

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