Amid a surge in running events in Seoul, the number of bus detours due to marathons and running competitions has more than doubled over the past year. This increase in traffic controls has led to growing public dissatisfaction and complaints.
On October 21, data submitted to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee of the National Assembly by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Police Agency revealed that the cumulative number of bus detours caused by 36 marathons and running events held in Seoul last year totaled 1,437.
This marks a 115.8% increase compared to the previous year, which saw 17 events and 666 detours. The trend has continued into this year, with 1,101 detours recorded by October 11 across 25 events, a 53.1% rise from the same period last year, which had 23 events and 719 detours.
The issue is that these traffic controls are concentrated in specific areas.
Among the 28 marathons and running events managed by the Seoul Police Agency last year, 17 were overseen by the police station in Jongno District. Following Jongno, Mapo District had 16 events, Jung District had 14, and Yeongdeungpo District had 13 (with some events spanning multiple districts). Notably, Jongno experienced road closures every Sunday for a month in November due to marathon events.
Public dissatisfaction is reflected in complaint statistics.
Of the 1,012 complaints received by the Seoul City regarding marathons and running events last year, 893 were related to traffic control, accounting for 88.2% of the total. This is a significant increase from 490 complaints in 2024, of which 425 were about traffic control.
Representative Jin Sun-mi of the Democratic Party stated, "While the traffic control for a single event lasts only a few hours, repeated events on the same roads lead to weekly inconveniences for citizens. The Seoul City and police should not only address traffic measures for individual events but also consider the annual frequency of controls and bus detours by region to prevent concentration in specific areas."
The increase in marathons in urban areas has also drawn criticism from the broadcasting community.
Webtoon artist and broadcaster Gi-an 84 expressed on his YouTube channel 'Insaeng84' on October 19, "There are too many marathons in Seoul, causing severe traffic congestion on weekends. This might lead the general public to view running negatively because the roads are completely blocked off."
Meanwhile, according to the marathon information-sharing website 'Marathon Online,' as of October 20, a total of 183 marathons have been registered in Seoul this year, a significant increase from 154 in 2025 and 120 in 2024.
Approximately 30% of the 604 marathons registered nationwide this year are concentrated in Seoul, followed by Gyeonggi Province with 71 events and North Gyeongsang Province with 42. Statistics show that nationwide, there are 305 events scheduled on Sundays and 275 on Saturdays, indicating a concentration of events on weekends.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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