Trash, illegal street vendors continue to plague cherry blossom festivals

Trash, including disposable cups, are stacked at a park near Gongji Stream in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Monday. Yonhap

Mounds of trash revisited this year's cherry blossom festivals nationwide as the streets were strewn with trash, such as disposable cups, delivery food containers and drink cans.

Near Gongji Stream in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, the situation was particularly dire. As the stream became a famous tourist attraction for enjoying cherry blossoms, garbage was haphazardly disposed of at the recycling center. Cigarette butts also littered the park as if smokers had a vendetta against the lawn.

Similarly, Yeouido Hangang Park in western Seoul faces a deluge of trash every year around festival time.

Despite having over six dumpsters set up, the volume of trash overwhelms the capacity. Overflowing trash cans are a common sight, with waste often found stacked up near trash cans.

Not only general trash but also plastics, cans and leftover food are often all indiscriminately mixed and disposed of on streets near the park. This results in foul smells, a common complaint among visitors and residents.

On top of the high-voltage power service facilities near Yeouinaru Station and adjacent bus stops, a mountain of waste had accumulated. Disposable cups and beer cans formed piles regardless of the warning signs cautioning the public of the risk of electric shock when disposing of waste there.

The issue of illegal street vendors also persisted despite efforts by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The city government set up a warning against consuming street food sold by these unauthorized vendors. However, compliance with this warning has been lacking.

These vendors, operating without permits, not only contribute to waste problems but also pose safety risks by encroaching on bicycle paths and potentially overcharging customers.

According to the city government's Future Hangang Project Headquarters, all current street vendors operating in the area are unauthorized and have been established without the necessary permissions.

Street vendors are only allowed during events that are hosted by the city government at all parks along the Han River. Since the city government isn't hosting the cherry blossom festival, any street vendor operations in the area are considered illegal, according to an official from the city government.

Although there are mechanisms to crack down on illegal vendors, practical limitations hinder swift enforcement. In the case of street vendors near the river, several procedures are necessary to initiate an immediate teardown. Therefore, measures to deal with these vendors often simply resort to fines.

The Future Hangang Project Headquarters has pledged to address these issues promptly, with upcoming announcements expected to outline regulatory changes and improvement strategies within the week.