Cheonggyecheon Stream

What would you expect to see when you have a stream flowing right smack in the heart of not only the 2nd largest mega city in the world but also one of the world’s largest and busiest city. I guess you would say, a filthy, polluted, trash-laden and stinking waterway. This may hold true for some, but not in the case of Seoul’s present-day Cheonggyecheon stream. The stream boast of sparkling clean waters and a major public recreation place for everyone. Thanks to the vision and political will of then Seoul Mayor and now President Lee Myung Bak. Cheonggyecheon has been lauded as a major success in urban renewal and revitalization. But this was not always the case for this culturally and historically significant waterway.

Cheonggyecheon is a 5.6 km stream that runs from west to east traversing through downtown Seoul before connecting to the Han River via the Jungnangcheon which eventually empties into the Yellow Sea.

Originally called Gaecheon during the Joseon Dynasty, it was only during the Japanese colonial period that the stream got its name Chonggyecheon .

In the years following the Korean War, migration to Seoul increased tremendously and the Cheonggyecheon area was not spared from becoming a slum area, a place called home to the less fortunate.

From the 1960s till the 70s, the stream was covered. Economic activity flourished and soon, elevated expressways were constructed leading to more and more commercial facilities sprouting in the area, and of course traffic became busier. With continuous economic growth in the 80s and 90s, the area had grown into the most prosperous economic district not just in Seoul but in the entire country as well, the more Chonggyecheon was buried into oblivion.

Cheonggyecheon’s renaissance started in 2003, when a project that would bring back the old glory and beauty of this once neglected stream got underway. Then Seoul Mayor Lee Myung Bak, amidst all the opposition, started the Cheongyecheon Restoration Project. A project that would eventually cost US$ 281 million in taxpayers money.

The project called for the removal of the elevated highway and for the restoration of the stream, which almost dried up due to years of neglect. Almost 120,000 tons of water was pumped daily into the stream for a period of time.

Finally in 2005, the Cheonggyecheon stream was opened to the public – a stunning 5.6 kilometer-long greenway and sparkling stream right in the heart of Seoul.

TRULY, KOREA SPARKLING!!!!