It is one of two annual races over the 42.195 km classic distance in the city, alongside the JoongAng Seoul Marathon which is held in November.

[3] The race has been integral to the elite level of the sport in Korea, as ten of the 28 South Korean national records in the marathon have been set at the competition.

The race was contested between fourteen of the country's top male runners and Seoul's Kim Eun-Bae won the first edition.

Kim and the 1933 winner Sohn Kee-chung both went on to compete at the Olympic marathon, although they did so under the flag of Japan as Korea was part of the Japanese empire at that time.

[6][5]: 6  Japanese marathoner Toyoichi Masuda became the first foreign winner in 1977 and he was soon joined by his countryman Makoto Matsuzaki, who won two years afterwards.

[5]: 7 Im Eun-Joo won a women's 30 km race in 1981 and female runners were allowed to take on the full marathon distance the following year.

[5]: 9 With the advent of another decade, Won-Tak Kim brought the men's record down to 2:11:38 in 1990, winning the Asian Marathon Championship which was hosted within the race that year.

[6] The runner-up Jason Mbote was declared the winner, but after a protracted legal battle Thys had his ban overturned in 2012 due to a breach of the rules in the way his sample was handled.

The route traces a pass through Dongdaemun-gu district before crossing the Han River to head towards the stadium finishing point.