Local governments up safety measures for year-end festivals

Hoping to keep New Year's festivals safe, local governments are planning to focus their efforts on crowd control at desirable travel destinations across the country which are popular for watching the first sunrise of 2024.

Gangneung, a popular year-round travel destination facing out to the East Sea in Gangwon Province, has organized a special safety management team, encompassing the city’s police, firefighters and other travel-related officials to closely monitor the on-site situation at large gatherings and implement appropriate measures.

Situation managers will be dispatched to densely populated areas to ease traffic and work as guides in crowded spots.

Gangneung’s Gyeongpodae area and Jeongdongjin Beach -- two of Korea's all-time favorite sunrise spots -- will also install practical facilities, including temporary toilets, for the convenience of visitors.

Geoje, a picturesque island in the southern part of the country in South Gyeongsang Province, has arranged for a 1.4-kilometer safety fence to be installed along the coastline at Jangseungpo Harbor area, where the sunset festival will take place on Sunday.

According to Geoje City, a total of 300 safety guards, police volunteers and volunteer firefighters are planning to assist at the festival. A temporary parking lot will also be installed to increase parking capacity.

Ulsan is scheduled to hold its sunrise festival at the city’s historical architecture Fortress of Kyeongsangjwado in Jung-gu, eastern Ulsan, for the first time.

The festival will entertain visitors with a diverse set of programs, including concerts, a floating balloon with a New Year’s wish, traditional Korean games and more.

The city plans to station almost 100 safety guards and volunteers around the fortress.

The 1-kilometer road stretching from the fortress to Byeongyeong Catholic Church will also be controlled as a one-way street from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Jan. 1.

Festival-goers will be guided to park their cars at nearby temporary parking areas, including near Byeongyeong Church, Byeongyeong Elementary School and Korea Polytechnics Ulsan Campus.

Meanwhile, renowned sunrise spots including Pohang’s Homigot Sunrise Square in North Gyeongsang Province, Taean’s Unyeo Beach in South Chungcheong Province and Jeju Island’s Seongsan Ilchulbong, or Seongsan Sunrise Peak, plan to take appropriate measures to ensure public safety with local police and fire departments.