What will happen at Seoul’s Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day?

Visitors will gather around a 400-meter yellow Chicken Table for fried chicken and beer, while 10 poultry businesses serve their specialties. The festival will also include a 25-piece tasting marathon for 100 selected guests and a K-Chicken Belt exhibition.

When will vehicle traffic end on Jamsu Bridge and what will replace it?

Vehicle traffic on the lower deck of Banpo Bridge will end on Oct. 26. The 50-year-old crossing will begin its transformation into a dedicated pedestrian park, while the bridge continues to support cultural events and festivals.

Why is Seoul using fried chicken to close the Jamsu Bridge car-free festival season?

The city chose chicken to celebrate the final installment of the season’s Submerged Bridge Walk Festival and highlight chimaek, the Korean tradition of pairing fried chicken with cold beer by the river. Officials also hope citizens, tourists, brand representatives and small business owners will join the finale.

400-meter chicken feast planned on Jamsu Bridge to mark end of vehicle traffic

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Summary

Seoul will host Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day on Sunday from 2 pm to 10 pm in Seoul to mark the end of this season’s car-free festival. The event will feature a 400-meter dining table, fried chicken and beer, and a final celebration before vehicle traffic ends on Oct. 26. The lower deck of Banpo Bridge will then be transformed into a pedestrian park.

Key Facts

Two 90-minute feast sessions at 4 pm and 6 pm will accommodate 2,000 participants selected through advance online reservations.
Ten chicken businesses, including BBQ, Puradak, Mom’s Touch, Mexicana, Mansuk Dakgangjeong and Oneul Tongdak, will serve food at the event.
A tasting panel of 100 Korean and international guests will sample 25 chicken pieces representing eateries from Seoul’s 25 administrative districts.
The K-Chicken Belt exhibition will be organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute.
The Moonlight Rainbow Fountain will be illuminated in yellow, while Jamsu Bridge’s lower deck will close permanently to vehicles on Oct. 26 for conversion into a pedestrian park.

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Published Oct 19, 2026 2:26 pm KST
Updated Oct 19, 2026 2:41 pm KST

'Chimaek' party on Han River to bring together major franchises, regional icons

An official poster for 'Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day,' marking the grand finale of this season's car-free festival on Jamsu Bridge / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government — An official poster for "Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day," marking the grand finale of this season's car-free festival on Jamsu Bridge / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Imagine a yellow dining table stretching 400 meters across the Han River, laden with crispy, golden-fried chicken and packed with 2,000 enthusiastic foodies. That is precisely how Seoul plans to say goodbye to cars on Jamsu Bridge this weekend.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday that it will host "Jamsu Bridge Chicken Day" Sunday from 2 pm to 10 pm, bringing down the curtain on this season's popular car-free festival. The mouthwatering event serves as a grand finale for the 50-year-old lower deck of Banpo Bridge before it permanently closes to vehicular traffic on Oct. 26 to begin its transformation into a dedicated pedestrian park.

In Seoul, few culinary pairings are as sacred as "chimaek" — crispy Korean fried chicken paired with cold beer — enjoyed alfresco along the riverbanks. The city is taking that beloved picnic tradition to unprecedented heights.

The centerpiece of the festival is a massive, bright-yellow "Chicken Table" capable of seating 1,000 diners at once. Two 90-minute feast sessions — scheduled for 4 pm and 6 pm — will accommodate a total of 2,000 lucky participants selected through online advance reservations.

A stellar lineup of 10 poultry powerhouses will be serving up their finest cuts.

Major nationwide franchises such as BBQ, Puradak, Mom’s Touch and Mexicana will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with legendary regional staples. Among them is Sokcho's famous Mansuk Dakgangjeong, renowned for its sweet and crunchy glazed chicken bites, and Oneul Tongdak, a Seoul institution that has been frying up its secret family recipe since 1977.

For serious connoisseurs, a specialized tasting panel of 100 preselected Korean and international guests will embark on an ambitious culinary marathon: sampling 25 distinct pieces of chicken, each representing a local eatery from one of Seoul’s 25 administrative districts.

Beyond the feast, visitors can explore the "K-Chicken Belt" exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korean Food Promotion Institute, which maps out iconic fried chicken destinations across the country.

As night falls, the famous Moonlight Rainbow Fountain cascading from Banpo Bridge overhead will glow in vibrant yellow to honor the day's star dish.

“For the final installment of this season’s ‘Submerged Bridge Walk Festival’ on Sunday, we have prepared a special event themed around everyone’s favorite food: chicken,” said Park Jin-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Future Hangang Project Headquarters. “We hope citizens, tourists, as well as brand representatives and small business owners from across the industry come together at Jamsu Bridge — soon to be transformed into a permanent pedestrian bridge — to celebrate the festival's grand finale.”

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

'Chimaek' party on Han River to bring together major franchises, regional icons

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