The number of marathon races that close roads in central Seoul has quadrupled in four years, with a single event diverting as many as 152 city bus routes and some districts facing road closures every Sunday. As running continues to gain popularity, officials are being urged to keep race dates and courses from clustering in the same areas.
Police managed 28 marathon races in Seoul last year, up from seven in 2022, nine in 2023 and 13 in 2024, according to data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to Rep. Jin Sun-mee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee. The jump was most pronounced last year, when the total rose by 15 from the previous year.
Bus detours surged along with the races. A total of 1,437 Seoul city bus routes were rerouted for 36 marathon and running events last year, up 115.8% from 666 a year earlier. The figure adds up the affected routes for each event, so a route counts more than once if it is diverted repeatedly.
The JTBC Seoul Marathon on Nov. 2 last year diverted 152 city bus routes, the most of any single event. The Seoul Marathon on March 16 diverted 141 routes, and the MBN Seoul Marathon on Nov. 16 diverted 128. Detours were concentrated in the fall, with 1,001 routes rerouted between September and November, or 69.7% of the annual total.
The disruption has continued this year. Through Oct. 11, 25 events had diverted a cumulative 1,101 bus routes, up 53.1% from 719 in the same period last year. The average number of detoured routes per event rose to 44.0 from 31.3.
Closures were also heavily concentrated in certain areas. In Jongno District, some roads were closed for marathon races on all five Sundays in November last year. Of the 28 events police managed last year, 17 involved police stations with jurisdiction in Jongno, the most of any district. Mapo District followed with 16, Jung District with 14 and Yeongdeungpo District with 13.
Among major thoroughfares, Sejong-daero fell within closure zones for 16 events last year. Sections of Eulji-ro, Cheonggyecheon-ro and Yeoui-daero were each closed for 11 events. Among Han River bridges, Seogang Bridge was affected most often, with nine events.
Closures also lasted a long time. The 28 events police managed last year closed roads for an average of about five hours and one minute, with the longest stretching to 10 hours. Twenty-two events, or 78.6% of the total, closed roads for four hours or more.
Public complaints have climbed as well. The Seoul city government received 1,012 marathon-related complaints last year, up 106.5% from 490 a year earlier. Of those, 893, or 88.2%, concerned traffic closures.
"A single event closes roads for only a few hours, but when it happens repeatedly on the same road, it becomes a weekly inconvenience for residents," Jin said. "The city government and police should look not only at traffic plans for individual events but also at the annual number of closures and bus detours in each district, and adjust race dates and courses so they do not cluster in particular areas."