Seoul rallies 1,486 volunteers to clean up Han River parks
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Volunteers collect litter and take part in environmental and safety activities during Seoul’s 2026 Fall Hangang Volunteer Day event at Ichon Hangang Park. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
More than 1,400 people joined forces across Seoul’s Han River parks this month, picking up litter, learning recycling rules and promoting bicycle safety in a city campaign to keep its popular riverside spaces clean and safe.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that 1,486 citizens, corporate employees and volunteers took part in three Fall Hangang Volunteer Day events held at Ichon, Ttukseom and Yeouido Hangang parks between Oct. 13 and Oct. 24.
The campaign, organized under the theme “Keep Hangang clean, keep Hangang safe,” combined litter pick-up with environmental education and public safety programs.
The first event, held Oct. 13 at Ichon Hangang Park, brought together 50 corporate volunteers who collected trash along park walkways.
The second gathering, on Oct. 17 at Ttukseom Hangang Park, drew 95 participants for litter collection and campaigns promoting environmental awareness and safe park use.
Yeouido Hangang Park hosted the largest event on Saturday, attracting 1,341 people, including children and adults who took part in environmental missions and quizzes about waste separation and reusable containers.
Participants also reviewed bicycle safety rules, including wearing helmets, maintaining safe distances and observing the park’s 20-kilometer-per-hour speed limit for cyclists.
The city said Hangang volunteer groups helped explain activities to visitors and encouraged the public to participate, broadening the campaign beyond registered volunteers.
Seoul plans to continue offering public participation programs that encourage residents to practice environmental protection and safety in their daily lives.
“I hope this ‘2026 Fall Hangang Volunteer Day’ served as an opportunity for citizens to become more familiar with volunteer activities and to continue making small efforts to protect the environment and promote safety in their everyday use of Hangang parks,” said Park Jin-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Future Hangang Bureau.
“We will continue to promote participation programs that bring citizens together to care for Hangang parks.”
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
