3.8 million visit Seoul-ro 7017 for 100 days

3.8 million visit Seoul-ro 7017 for 100 days. August. 28, 2017 08:10. by Tae-Ho Hwang taeho@donga.com.

Marking its 100th day on Sunday since the opening, Seoul-ro 7017 has been visited by around 3.8 million, according to estimates.

The Seoul city government announced on Sunday that the former overpass, or Seoul-ro 7017 opened on May 20 for pedestrians, was visited by an average 20,000 on weekdays and 40,000 on weekends. As of Saturday, the accumulated number reached approximately 3.76 million. "Before opening the new pathway, we predicted a daily average of 10,000 on weekdays and 17,000 on weekends," said Jeong Yong-sook, the head of the Seoul-ro Task-Force Team.

According to estimates, around 200,000 foreign tourists visited Seoul-ro 7017. After analyzing the responses from 8,216 foreign travelers who visited the tour guide center operated by Seoul Tourism Marketing at Seoul-ro 7017, visitors from Chinese-speaking nations topped the list at 37 percent. The list went on with Europe (34 %), the U.S. (11 %), and Japan (12 %).

In terms of the types of visitors, family tourists took the majority. An estimate based on the CCTV clips showed that families took the lion's share at 46 percent, followed by individuals (19 %), colleagues or friends (18 %), and lovers (17 %).

Meanwhile, the number of security personnel increased from 16 to 31 after a foreigner jumped off the overpass on May 29, just nine days after the opening. "We will constantly update emergency relief manuals co-written with adjacent police and fire departments," said the Seoul city government.