Fireworks show lights up Seoul skies

South Korea's largest annual fireworks show took place in Seoul on a cool early autumn night on Saturday. The Seoul International Fireworks Festival, organized by Hanwha Group, commenced just after 8 p.m. in the Yeouido district, with an estimated attendance of 530,000 spectators. This year's event occurred about three weeks earlier than previous years due to the Chuseok fall harvest holiday, which typically arrives later in the month. The theme for this year's fireworks display was "Find Your Light."

Held for the first time in the festival's history since its inception in 2000, the pre-festival event preceded the main show. The fireworks display featured teams from three countries - South Korea's Hanwha Corp., the United States, and Britain. The British team kicked off the spectacle, with their fireworks synchronized to the melody of "Soda Pop" from the original soundtrack of the Netflix hit, "KPop Demon Hunters."

Following the British team, the U.S. team lit up the sky to the accompaniment of "O Fortuna" playing in the background. The night concluded with the South Korean team's fireworks performance, which drew enthusiastic reactions from the crowd as it marked the final 20 minutes of the show.