Seoul fireworks show attracts 1 million spectators

Nearly one million spectators attended the Seoul International Fireworks Festival, the country's largest annual celebration of pyrotechnics, organizers announced on Sunday. However, it is estimated that many more individuals enjoyed the dazzling display from afar. The festival, held in the city's Yeouido district, concluded successfully on Saturday, according to the Hanwha Group, which organized the event.

Among the invited attendees were 300 families of national heroes and war veterans, who were honored as part of the festivities. The event was broadcast live on Hanwha Group's official YouTube channel, which attracted a staggering 2.68 million views, with peak concurrent users peaking at 260,000.

The company, which bore the entire cost of the show amounting to approximately 13 billion won (around $9.66 million), made significant efforts to ensure the safety of the crowds. A total of 5,000 safety personnel, including about 1,200 volunteers from Hanwha affiliates, were stationed at the venue to manage the crowd, marking the largest number of safety personnel ever deployed at the festival's history spanning over two decades.

The defense-to-ship building conglomerate also collaborated with local telecommunication operators to monitor real-time crowd density and utilize CCTV surveillance systems for crowd management.