"What’s so special about the ‘DangDang Run’?" Palace museum posts notice after growing fed up with nuisance caused by running crews [What do you think?]

[Financial News] As the area around Seoul’s Gyeongbokgung Palace has emerged as a so-called “running mecca,” some runners have been storing their exercise gear for long periods in the free lockers at the nearby National Palace Museum of Korea. The museum has asked them to refrain from doing so.
On the 3rd, the National Palace Museum of Korea posted a message on its official Instagram account asking visitors to “please stop storing running gear for a while.”
The museum explained that the free storage facility was provided for the convenience and comfort of exhibition visitors. However, visitors who actually come to see the exhibits are unable to use it because some people leave their belongings there for long periods while exercising outside or attending to personal matters.
It added, “For the smooth use of the facility by all visitors, please refrain from storing belongings for purposes unrelated to visiting the museum.”
The areas around Gyeongbokgung Palace and Seochon Village, adjacent to the museum, have recently become a popular route crowded with runners. The approximately 8-kilometer course starts at the Gwanghwamun Woldae, passes through Gyeongbokgung Palace, Cheong Wa Dae, Samcheong-dong, Jongno, and Cheonggyecheon Stream, and returns to the starting point. It is called the “DangDang Run” because its GPS map trace resembles a dog.
The route became even more widely known after broadcaster Jun Hyun-moo took on the course on MBC’s entertainment program ‘I Live Alone.’
The museum is believed to have issued the warning after some runners repeatedly took advantage of the free storage service by leaving their exercise gear there for long periods.
After learning about the incident, online commenters criticized the behavior of some runners, saying, “Runners themselves are turning running culture into a nuisance culture,” “There are paid lockers at Gyeongbokgung Station, so why go all the way to the National Palace Museum of Korea?” and “What’s so special about the DangDang Run that they act like this? It’s an eyesore.”



[email protected] Reporter Seong Min-seo Reporter