The Red Devils’ street cheering for the “Qatar World Cup 2022” will be held at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square on the 24th. Seoul City plans to prepare for the crowd on the day of the match by arranging special measures for handling security and public transport.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government approved the use of the square, requested by the Red Devils on the 17th, after a meeting of the Gwanghwamun Square Advisory Group on the afternoon of the 22nd. As a result, the installation of the event facilities, such as the stage, will start at 0:00 on the 24th, and the first street cheer will be held at 22:00 on the same day in time for the match between Korea and Uruguay.
The Red Devils are preparing for the event, expecting up to 10,000 citizens to gather in the square on match day.
Seoul’s street cheering for this World Cup was in a state where the Korean Football Federation even ended work-level discussions with Seoul last month, but the event was canceled after the Itaewon disaster. Subsequently, the Seoul branch of the Red Devils acted as an organizer and promoted street cheering and requested permission to use Gwanghwamun Square.
The period of use of the square permitted by the definitive provision on that day is from the 24th to the 3rd of the following month. Street cheering will be held around 10pm on the 24th and 28th and around 12am on the 3rd of the following month, when the Korean national team’s World Cup group stage matches will be held.
Jongno-gu’s office requested additional measures, saying the security management plan for the previous day’s event was insufficient. In response, the Red Devils took further steps and resubmitted the plan to the district office in the morning, which went into review in the afternoon.
The number of security personnel for the event also increased significantly to 340 people. Also, after consultation with the police, a street facing the square is checked, a security fence is placed around the perimeter of the square, and an entrance to the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts is created to induce crowd flow. During the period of street cheering, two bus stops on the side of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts adjacent to Gwanghwamun Square are temporarily closed. From 18:00 to 24:00 on the 24th and 28th and from 20:00 on the previous day (December 2) to 02:00 on the following day on the 3rd of the following month (starting at 0:00), all 22 lines run the stop passes without stopping. .
Gwanghwamun Station on Metro Line 5 will also pass without stopping if necessary. On the 24th and 28th, when the 1st and 2nd matches of the league group are played, the subway service will be increased by 12 times, and on the 3rd of next month, when the 3rd match is played, the last train schedule will be extended by 2 hours until 3:00 at the terminal station. In line with the end time of the game, the bus service will be increased and the last bus time will be extended.
