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One night, one million people The Seoul International Fireworks Festival is held on Saturday, September 5, 2026 at Yeouido Hangang Park. It has been sponsored by Hanwha since 2000, it is free to watch from the riverbanks, and it is the single most crowded evening on Seoul's calendar. The 2026 edition brings together fireworks teams from Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. Each team gets its own soundtrack and choreography, and the show is fired from barges on the Han River so that both banks can see it. The finale is the part people stay for. How to actually see it Yeouido Hangang Park itself is packed by early afternoon; people arrive with mats and convenience-store food and hold ground for hours. The bridges close to pedestrians, and Yeouinaru Station becomes almost unusable straight after the finale — expect to wait, or to walk twenty minutes to a quieter station. The opposite bank works too. Ichon Hangang Park and the Wonhyo Bridge area on the northern side give you the sky without the worst of the crush. Note for 2026: the whole of Nodeul Island is being run as the paid "Orange Play Zone" this year, so it is no longer a free wander-in option — you need a ticket. The 2026 schedule is set. The riverside grounds run 13:00 to 22:00, and the fireworks begin at 20:00: Pyrotex Fireworx of the UK at 20:00, Ace Pyro of the US at 20:20, Hanwha of Korea at 20:40. Yeouidong-ro is closed to cars from 15:00 to midnight, between the south end of Mapo Bridge and the front of the 63 Building, and the event plaza on the park side runs sponsor booths, prize events and a photo zone. This year falls three weeks earlier than the 2025 edition, which was held on September 27. Check hanwhafireworks.com before you go, and do not plan anything for immediately afterwards.