11,000 Enjoy Seoul’s ‘Hangang Bamping’...Local Business Sales Up 5.9%

[Financial News] More than 11,000 people participated in Seoul’s ‘Hangang Bamping,’ the city’s first initiative to promote the nighttime economy, over the course of a month. As more citizens spent the night at Hangang Parks, sales at nearby businesses and nighttime foot traffic also increased.
Seoul said on the 2nd that a total of 3,503 teams, or 11,476 people, participated in Hangang Bamping at Yeouido Hangang Park and Ttukseom Hangang Park last month. Hangang Bamping is the first project under nighttime economy promotion, one of Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s key policies. It is a temporary camping program that allows visitors to enjoy nighttime camping at Yeouido, Ttukseom and Mangwon Hangang Parks from 5 p.m. until 9 a.m. the following day.
In a satisfaction survey of 1,106 Hangang Bamping users, 94.7% said they hoped the program would continue next year. Meanwhile, 90.1% of respondents said Hangang Bamping “promotes nighttime leisure culture in the city and also benefits the local economy.”
The increase in citizens’ nighttime stays at Hangang Parks led to higher consumer spending. Seoul analyzed payment data from four card companies covering 168 commercial districts, 31 business categories and approximately 57,000 stores across three areas—Yeouido, Ttukseom and Mangwon—from the 1st to the 21st of last month. Sales in those areas rose by 19.4 billion won, or 5.9%, from 329.8 billion won during the same period last year to 349.2 billion won this year.
By area, Yeouido recorded the highest sales growth at 7.9%, followed by Ttukseom at 4.9% and Mangwon at 4.5%.
Sales made with foreign-issued cards increased even more sharply. During the same period, spending by foreign visitors rose by 14.9 billion won, or 40.3%, from 36.9 billion won to 51.8 billion won.
Nighttime foot traffic across the three areas also increased by 37,000 people, or 66%, from 56,000 to 93,000.
Having confirmed the effects of nighttime stays and consumer demand through Hangang Bamping, Seoul plans to expand the program into everyday nighttime leisure activities.
Starting this month, the city will expand nighttime leisure spaces to all 11 Hangang Parks. The permitted hours for using shade tents will be extended by three hours, from the previous 7 p.m. closing time to 10 p.m., while the number of designated areas where shade tents are allowed will increase from 16 to 20. Delivery zones will also expand from six to 17.
Park Jin-young, head of Seoul’s Future Hangang Headquarters, said, “Through Hangang Bamping, the Hangang River has established itself as a leading leisure space where citizens can enjoy themselves from day to night. We will continue expanding nighttime content and convenience facilities that citizens can experience firsthand, so that Hangang’s nights become a center of the nighttime economy, driving consumption and vitality in the local economy as well as providing rest and enjoyment.”
[email protected] Seong Cho-rong Reporter