With over 7 mil. visitors, Seoul Spring Festival sees exponential leap in attendance

Kids bounce on trampolines during the 2026 Seoul Spring Festival at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, May 5. Yonhap

The 2026 Seoul Spring Festival drew 7.06 million visitors over its 26-day run at Han River parks, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday, representing an 8.5-fold increase over the 820,000 who attended last year's shorter edition.

The festival, held April 10 through May 5 at Yeouido, Ttukseom, Jamsil and other Han River parks, marked the event's expansion from a seven-day downtown format to a monthlong riverfront celebration. Foreign visitors numbered 1.17 million, accounting for about 17 percent of total attendance.

During the "Super Week" golden holiday period from May 1 to 5, attendance reached 1.85 million, nearly triple the 641,190 recorded during the comparable period last year. Over the same stretch, daily ridership on the Hangang Bus rose roughly 125 percent from prefestival levels, while sales at riverside pier vendors surged 256.9 percent.

Flagship programs drove much of the turnout. The Wonder Show — combining K-pop, dance and fashion — sold out during the preregistration period. The nightly Signature Show at Yeouido's Mulbit Square drew about 80,000 spectators, establishing itself as a new nighttime attraction. A 2,000-drone light show, a Pokemon-themed road show and a riverfront carousel became widely shared subjects on Instagram Reels and other social media platforms, generating more than 2,000 spontaneous posts.

The 7 Emotions and Treasure Hunt programs at the Hangang Bus piers drew a combined 100,188 participants, including 3,250 foreign visitors who joined the Treasure Hunt.

Travel operator Plus Planner, which offered festival-linked tour packages for a second consecutive year, reported a 32.5 percent increase in participants and a 41.1 percent rise in revenue compared with 2025.

Southeast Asian visitors accounted for 31 percent of inbound tourists, followed by Chinese and Japanese visitors at 28 percent, with growing representation from the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.

Seoul said it plans to build on the festival's success to develop the Han River into a year-round cultural tourism landmark.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.