Residents in Sejong City formed massive lines and experienced heavy traffic on the 13th as the area’s very first McDonald's officially opened its doors, creating an "open-run" phenomenon.

According to McDonald's Korea, the new "Sejong DT (Drive-Thru) branch" welcomed its first customers on that day. Even before operations began at 7:00 AM, a crowd of around 300 people had already gathered, forming a long waiting line. The first customers in line reportedly arrived as early as 2:00 AM, waiting for about five hours.

By lunchtime, the parking lot was completely packed, and a surge of drive-thru vehicles caused a massive traffic backlog extending all the way to the store's entrance. With a traffic jam stretching approximately 100 meters, police officers and store staff had to be deployed to manage traffic flow.

A special opening-day event—offering free limited-edition tumblers to the first 100 customers—was completely sold out by morning.

Throughout the day, social media platforms and online communities buzzed with posts such as, "The current status of Sejong City's very first McDonald's," "McDonald's is finally here in Sejong," and "It's hard to believe a city of 400,000 people is only now getting its first McDonald's." Local residents also shared real-time updates, asking, "Are there still a lot of people in the afternoon?" and noting, "It took 20 minutes just to get my food."

The new branch spans two floors with a scale of approximately 152 pyeong (approx. 500 square meters). Notably, the second floor features a dedicated book café equipped with age-appropriate books ranging from toddlers to upper elementary school students.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]