Seoul's 'Hangang Bamping' Night Tourism Draws 11,000; Card Spending Up 5.9%

Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that "Hangang Bamping," part of its initiative to boost the nocturnal economy, drew enthusiastic responses with about 11,000 participants over the past month.

Hangang Bamping is the inaugural project under Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's policy vision to revitalize the nighttime economy. Throughout August, temporary campsites featuring 100 tents each—totaling 200 tents—were operated across two Hangang parks.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that the program, held last month at Yeouido and Ttukseom Hangang Parks, drew 3,503 teams consisting of 11,476 people.

In a satisfaction survey of 1,106 users, 94.7 percent of respondents answered that they "hope it continues to operate next year," while satisfaction ratings stood at 44.3 percent for "very satisfied" and 35.8 percent for "satisfied."

According to an analysis by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, citizens staying out late at the Hangang parks translated into consumption.

An analysis of payment data from four major credit card companies (Shinhan, BC, Kookmin, and Samsung) covering 57,000 stores across 31 business sectors in 168 commercial districts in the three areas of Yeouido, Ttukseom, and Mangwon from August 1 to 21 showed an increase from 329.8 billion KRW during the same period last year to 349.2 billion KRW this year, up 19.4 billion KRW (5.9 percent).

Notably, foreign credit card sales surged from 36.9 billion KRW to 51.8 billion KRW, an increase of 14.9 billion KRW (40.3 percent), significantly outpacing the overall sales growth rate.

The average daily nighttime floating population across the three areas increased by 37,000 (66 percent) from 56,000 to 93,000 compared to the same period last year.

In particular, the floating population around the Ttukseom Hangang Park swimming pool spiked by 1,847 percent.

Starting this month, the city has extended the operating hours of shading tents, which previously closed at 7 p.m., until 10 p.m. across all 11 Hangang parks in Seoul so citizens can enjoy leisure activities at night.

The number of permitted shading tent zones, previously 16, was increased to a total of 20 by adding one each in Gwangnaru, Jamsil, Ttukseom, and Yanghwa Hangang Parks, while the number of delivery zones was expanded from 6 to 17 to make them available across all 11 Hangang parks.

Park Jin-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Hangang Headquarters, said, "Through Hangang Bamping, the Hangang parks have established themselves as a premier leisure space for citizens to enjoy from day to night," adding, "We will continue to expand night contents and convenience facilities that citizens can actually experience, ensuring that nights at the Hangang go beyond mere relaxation and enjoyment to become the core of a nocturnal economy that drives consumption and vitality in the local economy."

(Photo courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.