Imagine half a million people all looking up at the same sky at the same time - and then bursting into tears because it's that beautiful. That was Seoul on Saturday night.

Seoul absolutely went BOOM! - and we mean that literally.

As reported by cbinews.tv, around 530,000 spectators flooded the banks of the Han River on Saturday, September 5th, for one of South Korea's biggest and most beloved nights of the year - the Seoul International Fireworks Festival.

If you've never been, picture this: huge bursts of colour exploding over the water, the whole skyline reflected in the river, and a sea of phones held up to capture it all. It was pure magic.

And for first-timers, the sheer scale was a shock.

"It was like a wall of fireworks. It was incredible," visitor Eric told cbinews.tv.

This year's line-up was a proper international affair. Under this year's theme "Find Your Light", Britain opened the show, the United States followed and hosts South Korea's Hanwha Corp closed it with a jaw-dropping finale.

Tourist Eline said it was the biggest thing she'd ever seen: "It was the most beautiful fireworks I ever saw in my entire life, and the biggest one also."

And she wasn't the only one feeling emotional.

"I actually started crying because it was so beautiful," visitor Sophie admitted.

More than just fireworks.

If you're wondering why this festival is such a big deal, here's some context. This isn't a new thing. The festival was first launched back in 2000 by Hanwha Group as a free gift to the city - one of their biggest corporate social responsibility projects.

Since then, it's grown into a signature autumn event for Seoul, regularly pulling in over 1 million spectators in recent years. It started at Yeouido Hangang Park and is still held around Yeouido and Ichon Hangang Parks today.

Hanwha foots the entire bill, investing up to 10 billion won every year, with reports this year putting the cost at 13 billion won to keep it free for everyone. The company has a bit of a history with big bangs - they've done displays for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, the 2002 World Cup and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics too.

It's not always gone ahead, though. The festival was cancelled in 2001, 2006, 2009 and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Which is why the return has felt even bigger.

This year was a first in another way, too - organisers held a pre-festival event for the very first time in the festival's 25-year history, with daytime booths, interactive experiences and entertainment from 1pm before the main show at 7pm.

And keeping that many people safe is no small feat. Around 6,800 personnel were deployed to manage crowds, traffic and emergencies, with Hanwha saying in previous years it has spent around 4.5 billion won on safety alone.

Free, emotional, and utterly enormous. No wonder Seoul keeps looking up.

Credit: cbinews.tv

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