SEOUL, August 14 (AJP) - Seoul's water ferry service along the Han River has carried more than 500,000 passengers since its launch last fall, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Friday.
According to the city government, the cumulative number of passengers stood at 501,430 as of Aug. 13, about a year after the service began on Sept. 18 last year, with nearly half of all trips taken on weekends.
Early technical glitches caused several disruptions and service halts, keeping ridership at around 100,000 during the first six months through February. Since March, however, ridership has steadily increased as the service returned to normal and operations stabilized.
Some 243,509 passengers or nearly half of all riders, used the service on Saturdays and Sundays. Yeouido was the busiest terminal with 177,893 passengers, followed by Jamsil with 69,227, Magok with 66,818, Ttukseom with 58,526 and Mangwon with 51,965.
In a survey of riders conducted last month, about 97 percent said they were satisfied with the service, while about 93 percent said they planned to ride it again.
To help residents enjoy the Han River at night, more departures will be available during evening hours starting this week.
"The city will continue to gather feedback from passengers and analyze usage patterns to improve the service and make it more convenient," said Park Jin-young, a city official.
AJP Takeaways:
- Seoul's Han River water ferry service recorded 501,430 passengers as of Aug. 13, 2026, nearly a year after operations began on Sept. 18, 2025.
- Weekend ridership accounted for 243,509 passengers, or nearly half of the total, with Saturdays and Sundays proving particularly popular.
- Yeouido was the busiest Han River ferry terminal with 177,893 passengers, followed by Jamsil with 69,227, Magok with 66,818, Ttukseom with 58,526 and Mangwon with 51,965.
- Ridership remained around 100,000 during the first six months through February 2026 because of technical glitches and service disruptions, but increased steadily from March as operations stabilized.
- Passenger satisfaction was high, with about 97 percent of riders surveyed in July 2026 saying they were satisfied and 93 percent saying they planned to use the service again. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also began adding more evening departures from Aug. 2026.
According to the city government, the cumulative number of passengers stood at 501,430 as of Aug. 13, about a year after the service began on Sept. 18 last year, with nearly half of all trips taken on weekends.
Early technical glitches caused several disruptions and service halts, keeping ridership at around 100,000 during the first six months through February. Since March, however, ridership has steadily increased as the service returned to normal and operations stabilized.
Some 243,509 passengers or nearly half of all riders, used the service on Saturdays and Sundays. Yeouido was the busiest terminal with 177,893 passengers, followed by Jamsil with 69,227, Magok with 66,818, Ttukseom with 58,526 and Mangwon with 51,965.
In a survey of riders conducted last month, about 97 percent said they were satisfied with the service, while about 93 percent said they planned to ride it again.
To help residents enjoy the Han River at night, more departures will be available during evening hours starting this week.
"The city will continue to gather feedback from passengers and analyze usage patterns to improve the service and make it more convenient," said Park Jin-young, a city official.
AJP Takeaways:
- Seoul's Han River water ferry service recorded 501,430 passengers as of Aug. 13, 2026, nearly a year after operations began on Sept. 18, 2025.
- Weekend ridership accounted for 243,509 passengers, or nearly half of the total, with Saturdays and Sundays proving particularly popular.
- Yeouido was the busiest Han River ferry terminal with 177,893 passengers, followed by Jamsil with 69,227, Magok with 66,818, Ttukseom with 58,526 and Mangwon with 51,965.
- Ridership remained around 100,000 during the first six months through February 2026 because of technical glitches and service disruptions, but increased steadily from March as operations stabilized.
- Passenger satisfaction was high, with about 97 percent of riders surveyed in July 2026 saying they were satisfied and 93 percent saying they planned to use the service again. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also began adding more evening departures from Aug. 2026.
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