KBS Documentary Three Days captures 72 hours at Seoul Station, where 170,000 people pass through daily

Episode 739 Documentary Three Days>

Connecting Lives - 72 Hours at Seoul Station

From the romance of an 89-year-old wandering wherever their feet lead, to the first business trip of an employee in their first year... a 3-day record of Seoul Station.

Broadcast: Monday, October 12, 2026, at 8:30 PM on KBS 2TV

Seoul Station, where an average of about 170,000 people and over 300 trains come and go every day. At Seoul Station, people depart and arrive to go on trips, head to intense workplaces, or reunite with beloved families. It is not merely a place of departure and arrival, but a place that connects someone's yesterday and today, their hometown and workplace, and those who have left and those who remain. From the moment the station shutters rise at 4 AM until the last train departs around midnight, Documentary Three Days joins these 72 hours at Seoul Station, where countless lives are connected.

The 'excitement' met at Seoul Station, the gateway to Seoul

Seoul Station is a place where journeys end and other journeys begin. In 2026, the waiting room of Seoul Station is particularly crowded with foreign tourists visiting from all over the world. There is even a separate global lounge for foreign tourists who wish to tour Seoul, which has established itself as a global attraction, as well as Busan and Gyeongju. Additionally, on Sunday afternoons, Seoul Station is crowded with people scattering to various parts of the country and returning.

People boarding and disembarking trains with the common denominator of excitement. A couple heading to a baseball stadium on a cheap Mugunghwa train, a whole family carrying food packed by a mother after her 70th birthday celebration, and two friends returning with carts full of bread from a day trip to Daejeon on an early morning train. An 89-year-old elder met in front of the ticket office says they only recently started traveling freely "as their heart desired."

A place where life begins and continues

When Monday comes, long-distance commuters heading to workplaces in Seoul gather at Seoul Station from the early morning. An employee in their first year of work boarded the first train with a trembling heart, saying, "It feels like I'm doing adult work for the first time" on their first business trip, and insurance salespeople from Daegu, who arrive at work at 5 AM and leave at 11 PM, laughed, saying, "Next time I come to Seoul, I want to come as a first-prize Lotto winner." From job seekers who came early on purpose ahead of a final interview, to a new boss from Busan who started a business in middle age with three children, and a patient who came to Seoul for their 70th chemotherapy session, Seoul Station is a place where the days each person carries begin and end.

People moving so that the paths do not stop

There are those who move so that the path of 170,000 daily visitors does not stop. A station master who takes a radio and goes down to the platform personally during sudden train delays, and control room and broadcasting room staff who inspect every corner of the station. We followed their invisible daily lives, as they must kindly respond to passengers asking for directions all day and sometimes to complainants who get angry.

In this city of Seoul, which shines so brightly to light up everyone's respective places, what kind of dreams did the people passing through its gateway, Seoul Station, hold, and what kind of days did they continue? Documentary Three Days 'Connecting Lives - 72 Hours at Seoul Station' will be broadcast on Monday, October 12, at 8:30 PM on KBS 2TV, featuring narration by singer Yoo Yeol.

(Photo credit = KBS 2TV 'Documentary Three Days')

Read the original (Korean)