Seoul City will hold the 'Car-Free Jamsu Bridge Ttubuk Ttubuk Festival' from April 26 to June 14. The event takes place at Jamsu Bridge every Sunday. There will be schedules like a parade, performances, movie screenings, exercise programs, and a flea market. This year's theme is 'Han River we walk together, us together.' Seoul City increased play experiences that adults can also enjoy. During the festival, vehicle traffic will be blocked on about a 1.1km section from the north end of Jamsu Bridge to Moonlight Square at the south end. The control time is every Sunday from 11 AM to 11 PM. The Jamsu Bridge festival started in 2022. Seoul City said the total number of visitors until last year was 1.5 million people. It also said that the Banpo Moonlight Rainbow Fountain will run 3 times a day instead of the previous 5 times a day to save energy.
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Why the Jamsu Bridge festival news is not just an event guide
At first, it just looks like a weekend festival article. But if you look a little closer, this news actually shows how much Seoul is turning from a city of cars into a city of people. Stopping cars on the bridge and putting walking, performances, and a market there is not just a simple event.
Jamsu Bridge is especially not an ordinary bridge. It is very close to the Han River water surface, so it gives a much stronger feeling of being 'directly up on the river' than other Han River bridges. So the moment cars disappear, the road becomes a walking path, seats for watching, and a stage. Seoul City is using this feeling to redesign Jamsu Bridge as not 'a place to pass by' but 'a place to stay'.
The number 1.5 million visitors in the article is also not just bragging about popularity. From Seoul's view, it is closer to a test of 'Do citizens really want this kind of space?' In other words, the Jamsu Bridge festival is both a festival and, at the same time, a stage where Seoul's walking policy, Han River policy, and city branding experiment all come together.
The Jamsu Bridge festival is both an event introduction article and a walking policy article.
Seoul is testing a change of Han River bridges from 'transport facilities' into 'public spaces for staying'.
How did Jamsu Bridge become a 'festival stage'?
The current 모습 of Jamsu Bridge was not made overnight. It is the result of the bridge structure, Han River development, and walking experiments building up step by step.
Step 1: In 1979, it was an unusual bridge from the start
Jamsu Bridge is a low-water bridge made with the idea that it would go under water during floods. Simply put, it is not a bridge raised high above the river, but a style that is used low in normal times and controlled when the water rises. Because of this structure, you can feel the Han River much more closely than on other bridges.
Step 2: In 1982, Banpo Bridge was built above it
When Banpo Bridge was placed above Jamsu Bridge, it became a rare double-deck bridge in Seoul. Fast-moving cars were above, and a road closer to the river was below. This special scene later became the base for making Jamsu Bridge a symbolic space of Seoul.
Step 3: After the 2000s, it became a famous night view spot on the Han River
As Banpo Hangang Park, the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, and night walking culture became established, the area around Jamsu Bridge became not just a passageway but a place people come to enjoy. In other words, it became not a space with only one bridge, but a complex place where a park, riverside, and night view are tied together.
Step 4: In 2022, car-free Jamsu Bridge began
Seoul City started an experiment of clearing out cars and giving the bridge back to citizens. What is important here is not 'one event,' but that they directly checked whether people really want to walk, rest, and have fun on the bridge.
Step 5: Now it is being redesigned as a 'bridge of culture'
Recently, Jamsu Bridge is being imagined as more than a festival place. It can become a permanent culture space like a walking bridge, exhibition space, and performance stage. The Seoul city government also shared a plan to change Jamsu Bridge into the longest gallery over the Han River. So the festival now is close to a preview of the future design.
Why was it Jamsubgyo of all places?
| Comparison item | Regular Han River bridge | Jamsubgyo |
|---|---|---|
| Distance from the river | Usually high up, so the view is nice, but it is far from the water surface | Very close to the water surface, so the feeling of walking on the river is strong |
| Sense of space | It is closer to a passage space for crossing quickly | If cars are blocked, a long straight walking space appears right away |
| Connection with nearby area | In many cases, the bridge itself is the center | It is directly next to Banpo Hangang Park, so it is easy to connect picnics, performances, and markets |
| Symbolism | It has a strong image as transport infrastructure | The two-level bridge structure, night view, fountain, and performances give it strong city symbolism |
| Festival suitability | Even if cars are blocked, it is not easy to add stay-type programs | It is good for bringing together walking, exercise, performances, movies, and flea markets in one place |
How did the Han River become a 'river to stay at'?
If a foreigner lives in Seoul, there is something interesting. The Han River is not just a simple river. It feels like a sports ground, a park, and a festival place. This character was also made through history.
Step 1: At first, it was more a place to manage than a leisure space
During the industrialization period, the Han River was strongly seen as a place where floods and pollution had to be managed. It was very different from today's image of spreading out a mat and resting there.
Step 2: In the 1980s, the Olympics changed the Han River
While preparing for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the comprehensive Han River development project was carried out. As the riverbanks were improved and citizen parks were created, the Han River began to change from a 'city problem space' into the 'face of the city'.
Step 3: At first, it was closer to a sports park
In the 1980s, Han River parks were not places with many cafes and performances like now. They were spaces centered on wide grass fields and sports facilities. In other words, before becoming a 'cultural space to stay in,' it was first a 'space to come out and exercise.'
Step 4: In the 2000s, the Han River Renaissance expanded everyday living space
As walking paths, convenience facilities, and cultural programs increased, the Han River grew from a place only for exercise into a space for picnics, dates, and night walks. From this point, stay-type content like performances and markets started to fit well there.
Step 5: In the 2020s, the Han River became a complex lifestyle and culture platform
These days, if you go to a Han River event, you can see running, yoga, reading, movies, food trucks, and flea markets all mixed together. This is not because the programs are messy, but because the Han River itself has become a space that plays the roles of sports ground, living room, and stage at the same time.
How is Seoul's Han River culture different from riversides in other countries?
| City | Typical way the riverside is used | Difference from Seoul |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul Han River | Picnics, running, bicycles, performances, movies, and markets all happen together within one park belt | Everyday leisure and large citizen events run in the same space at the same time |
| Paris Seine | Scenery watching, walks, and experiences centered on cultural heritage are strong | Compared with Seoul, the share of everyday sports and large-scale park-style use is weaker |
| London Thames | There is a lot of use centered on riverside cultural facilities and tourism routes | It is less like Seoul, where a long grass-type park belt continues into everyday sports spaces |
| New York Hudson | The redeveloped waterfront, walking, and commercial and tourism functions stand out | Seoul has a stronger focus on public parks and everyday life for citizens than on commercial districts |
Seoul's walking experiment came from streets to bridges
If you look only at Jamsu Bridge, it may seem like a strange policy. But if you look at the whole flow of Seoul, it is actually natural.
Stage 1: Car-free street experiment
In places like Sejong-daero, Cheonggyecheon-ro, and Bukchon-ro, the Seoul city government repeatedly tested reducing cars at certain times and expanding walking space. It was the stage of first checking citizens' reactions.
Stage 2: Road diet
A method also appeared in places like Toegye-ro, where the number of lanes was reduced and sidewalks were widened. Road diet is an urban design method that reduces car space a little and increases space for people.
Stage 3: Reinterpretation of plazas and overpasses
Cases like the reorganization of Gwanghwamun Square and Seoullo7017 created the symbol that 'car infrastructure can be changed into citizen space.' It showed that a place used only for moving can become a place to stay.
Stage 4: Expansion of neighborhood walking policy
This flow did not stay only in tourist areas. It also spread to alleys, areas around schools, and zones centered on people with mobility difficulties. In other words, walking policy is not an event anymore, but is becoming institutionalized.
Stage 5: Now the bridge itself is seen as a walking space
Jamsu Bridge is the latest example in that line. Seoul is no longer thinking only about 'how to make roads less crowded,' but is asking, 'how can the most symbolic infrastructure in the city be changed into a citizen experience?'
Looking at confirmed numbers, the response to the Jamsu Bridge experiment was about this much
Only the numbers directly confirmed in the research were included. You can see visitor response and operation changes together.
Why are Seoul festivals becoming more and more 'experience-based'?
| Comparison item | Past public festivals | Recent Seoul-style festivals |
|---|---|---|
| Core method | A format where people watch performances and exhibitions | A format where people directly join exercise, making things, markets, food, and photo zones |
| Main target | Mainly children and families | They target children, adults, young people, and tourists together |
| Operation goal | Holding the event itself and the number of visitors | Satisfaction, length of stay, repeat visits, city branding, connection with commercial areas |
| How the space is used | People gather in one place centered on the stage | The city space itself is used as an experience course |
| If you apply it to Jamsu Bridge, | it ends with one or two performances on the bridge. | Walking, exercise, movies, play, and a flea market all come together. |
Why do even famous night-view spots reduce operating hours?
| Decision factor | What the Seoul city government considers | Example shown in the Jamsu Bridge article |
|---|---|---|
| Power supply and demand | Need to save energy across the whole city | Moonlight Rainbow Fountain operation reduced from 5 times a day to 3 times |
| Budget | Burden of electricity bills and facility operating costs | Even famous landmarks are not operated without limits |
| Citizen benefit | Balance between keeping attractions and saving electricity | Not a full stop, only fewer runs, so the symbolic meaning stays |
| Policy method | Short-term electricity saving and long-term efficiency improvement together | Adjusting operating hours, changing to LED, and expanding high-efficiency facilities go together |
So why is this festival important for understanding Seoul?
If you look at the Jamsu Bridge festival, you can see what the city of Seoul thinks is important these days. In the past, the key point was how quickly a bridge could send cars through, but now the important question is what kind of city experience that bridge can create.
The Han River is the same too. Now the Han River is not just scenery. It has become a huge everyday platform where Seoul people rest, exercise, take pictures, and enjoy festivals. So news about Jamsu Bridge is really a 'where should we go this weekend?' article, but at the same time it is also a city article that shows 'how Seoul is using its spaces again.'
The longer you live in Korea, the more interesting scenes like this feel. Seoul is not changing the city only by building new buildings. It is also changing the mood of the city by using existing roads, bridges, and the river in different ways. The few hours when cars disappear from Jamsu Bridge are short, but those few hours show Seoul's future direction quite clearly.
The Jamsu Bridge festival is an experiment where Seoul changes transportation infrastructure into a living culture space for citizens.
If you understand this festival, you can start to see why the Han River, walking policy, and city branding come together in one article too.
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