Seoul to light up Han River with 2,000-drone Marvel show on Halloween

Seoul will hold its final drone light show of the year over the Han River on Saturday with a Marvel theme. A record 2,000 drones will be used, the city government said. The 15-minute show, titled “Marvel Special,” will begin at 8:30 p.m. at Ttukseom Hangang Park in eastern Seoul. Drones will recreate Iron Man and other Marvel characters, as well as iconic scenes from the films, set to music. The city launched the drone shows in 2023 as part of its push to make the Han River a nighttime attraction. The effort supports its tourism goals of drawing 30 million foreign visitors a year, raising per-person spending to 3 million won ($2,100), extending average stays to seven days and achieving a 70 percent revisit rate. The seven shows held so far this year through Oct. 9 drew about 197,000 people. That is an average of about 28,000 per show, more than 2.5 times the 2023 average of 11,000. Foreign nationals made up 34.6 percent of the 125,358 viewers at the five shows in the first half. On show days, card spending at nearby businesses rose 39 percent, while spending by foreign nationals jum