24-hour operations center to run alongside dedicated price-monitoring unit; emergency medical, water supply, traffic and sanitation measures all covered
Gangneung city said it will run a comprehensive operations center from Thursday through Sunday and roll out its "2026 Chuseok Holiday Comprehensive Plan" across eight sectors closely tied to residents' daily lives — covering safety management, health and medical care, price stability, and traffic, among others — to ensure a safe and comfortable holiday for residents and visitors alike.
As one of the few internationally designated tourism cities among South Korea's basic local governments, the city said it is doubling its efforts to look after both residents and the safety of tourists.
The city's disaster and safety operations center will run around the clock throughout the holiday period to keep residents, homecoming visitors and tourists safe.
To ease the burden of rising prices, the city will operate a dedicated price-monitoring operations center to track price trends for key seasonal goods and strengthen monitoring of priority items. Order-keeping personnel will also be deployed in crowded areas of Jungang Market and Seongnam Market, where tourists tend to congregate, to reinforce safety management.
To minimize gaps in medical care during the holiday, Gangneung Asan Hospital and Gangneung Medical Center will keep their emergency rooms fully operational, while Gangneung Dongin Hospital and Gangneung Korea Hospital will also maintain their treatment systems throughout the break.
The city will also operate clinics, traditional Korean medicine practices and pharmacies on a rotating daily schedule so residents can access necessary medical services even during the holiday.
Drawing on last year's experience managing a drought, the city will monitor water consumption in real time as usage rises over the holiday period and run a dedicated water supply operations center to ensure a stable tap water supply.
Alongside this, the city plans to deploy mobile waste-disposal and residential complaint-response units during the holiday, and will carry out advance inspections of major roads and traffic facilities along with special traffic management measures to minimize inconvenience for residents and tourists.
"Having gone through the hardship of last year's drought, we will pay even closer attention to ensuring a stable water supply, and respond without gaps across all areas directly tied to residents' lives — safety, medical care, traffic and prices — so that everyone can enjoy a comfortable Chuseok holiday," Gangneung Mayor Kim Jung-nam said.
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