An artist's concept of the artificial sandy beach on Jamsu Bridge, Seoul. Seoul City recently scrapped the event after criticism. / Courtesy of Seoul City



By Chyung Eun-ju, Park Si-soo



Seoul City has scrapped the media-hyped plan to roll out a dazzling sandy beach on the deck of a bridge crossing the Han River after criticism and an expected low profit.

The artificial beach was planned for Jamsu Bridge from Aug. 11 to 13, during which its lanes were to be covered with 810 tons of fine sand. The city believed the beach would become a major summer vacation destination.

The project hit its first snag when rain delayed its opening -- initially planned for July 28-30. It soon faced criticism from civic groups and people who called the event a "meaningless show that would only waste taxpayers' money." The cost was about 500 million won ($444,600).

"We have lost the opening timing," said a Seoul official, explaining the reason for the cancelation. "It should have gone public in late July or early August at the latest. But we lost the time due to the delay."

Another official said many corporate sponsors withdrew following the delay, making the event unprofitable.

A consumer who bought a waterslide ticket said: "I bought the ticket because I trusted the event made by the city but I'm baffled that they canceled the event because of profits."