Cheonggyecheon
Coming to Life

Reborn as a tourism and culture attraction in the heart of Seoul


The Cheonggyecheon Stream has been reborn as an environmentally-friendly, human-oriented urban space as it was officially open to the public Oct. 1 after the completion of the work on removing the Samil Elevated Road and restoring the stream.
The renewed stream has become one of Seoul's landmarks with a renowned resting place for not only Seoulites and other people from all parts of the nation as well as visiting foreign tourists, featuring a combination of tradition of a 600-year-old metropolis and modernity.
The stream is returning to the bosom of Mother Nature, bidding a farewell to the 44 year-old era of darkness in which the stream was covered by walls of concrete and the now-removed elevated road.
Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed to see the facelift of the restored stream on the opening day as the landscape of the stream has changed into the scene of life filled with abundance and dynamic force and culture in place of thick slabs of concrete and rotten steel. The number of visitors to the Cheonggyecheon Stream on the opening day was estimated at 580,000. The restored stream is added to the map of Seoul City's tourist attractions, and restaurants and cafes are humming with an overflowing crowd of visitors. The municipal government plans to add the restored stream to the Seoul City Bus tour courses.
Young couples, fathers with putting their kids on their shoulders, and groups of three or fours youngsters are seen among the throng of visitors strolling along the renovated 5.8km-long road. The restored Stream starts from an open plaza in front of the vernacular daily Dong-A Ilbo Building and converges with the Jungnyangcheon Stream before flowing into the Han River, and the project completes Seoul's dream drive to form the so-called green line linking Mt. Bukhan and the river"
The project on restoring the stream had been already thrust to the global limelight as it won an architect award in the 2004 Venice Biennale.
Organizers of the biennale have apparently placed more weight on the idea of restoring the stream than the restoration work itself. The restoration idea is the work of the current Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, dubbed as a prominent CEO mayor. The mayor envisages renowned installations of art, decorated with the starting point of the restored stream, a probably magnet for visiting foreign tourists. His idea might originate from the concept that the Guggenheim Museum, built on the formerly shipbuilding yard site along the Nervion River, Bilabo, northeast of Spain, has changed the gray city into the one imbued with artistic scents.
Seoulites and people from every nook and corner of the nation are coming to the renewed face of the stream to see the cool water flow, sound murmur and green grass and flowers grow along the paths of the stream.
Seoul City is considering banning smoking and pet animals from the narrow paths of the stream in the interests of visitors strolling or jogging.
A festival celebrating the opening of the restored stream is under way from Oct.
1 through the rest of the month, featuring traditional performances, exhibitions and other cultural events. The refurbished stream is now turning into a street of cultural performances.
The Cheonggyecheon Stream becomes a refreshing refuge with the restoration of 22 bridges. One of the streams a feature differing from that of the past is a restored stream one to two meters deeper and wider designed to endure the worst flood that could hit the river. Historical records show that the river was inundated with floods, the worst in a few hundreds.
The project includes laying stones, planting fringe trees and making promenades along the refurbished stream. The new stream underwent a test operation to take precautions against possible flooding during the period between July and August, the nation's monsoon season before its formal opening. Approximately 50 to 60 percent of Korea's precipitation is concentrated during the summer.
Cheonggyecheon has been restored to its original state as much as possible, except some inevitable changes, in accordance with historical study by cultural property experts. Controversy once flared up over some people's demand that Gwangtong-gyo Bridge, one of the 22 bridges spanning over the stream, should be restored to its original place. Historical and culture property experts devised a replica designed for pedestrians to be moved about 150 meters away from its original place, where the reproduction would be otherwise unfit in consideration of passing traffic volumes.
A large amount of water, about 120,000 tons, being drawn from the Han River flows into along the restored stream per day. The stream is an average of 40 cm deep, 24 meters to 80 meters wide and it flows at a speed of 25 cm per second. The renovated stream is dotted with diverse facilities and attractions ranging from nine fountains, promenades on both embankments, forested arenas, resting places, to artificial ponds and waterfalls and even wooded fences for growing a specialty of flora at the center of the stream. The quality of the stream water is maintained to the second grade level so that the stream may be a habitat for returning fishes and birds in a short time period.
The starting point of the new stream features a sprawling Cheonggyecheon Plaza encompassing 21,000 pyeong or 69,300 sq. meters, in front of the daily Dong-A Ilbo Building. The plaza, paved with stones, not with asphalt, is normally used for a motorway, but an open space for holding a variety of events during holidays and special periods. The plaza, connected with the Mojeon-gyo Bridge, the first one of the Cheonggyecheon Stream, houses lawn grounds of diverse types, two-tier artificial waterfalls, octagonal stone structures, all symbolizing Seoul's history and culture and environmental restoration.
There are two paths running 61 meters from the plaza to the Cheonggyecheon Stream - one made with stairs and the other with a ramp. The 18-meter tunnel section of the ramp is a kind of a space specially designed for visitors who can get a glimpse of the darkness of the covered Cheonggyecheon of the past and enjoy a sense of liberation of the stream of the current time. Historical facts on the developments of the Cheonggyecheon Stream are put on the wall of the ramp on top of patters and colors of the traditional Korean wrapper "bojagi"and exciting pictures, including some with goblins and a miniature of the Cheonggyecheon Stream.
Shin Hyun-don, president of Seoan Landscape and Architecture Co. said, "The Cheonggyecheon Plaza is designed to give a familiarity to us lacking in open space culture. You can walk along the lake and reach the Han River even though it takes time, and you may commute by walking along the stream."The nocturnal illumination of the plaza is made in light blue, an image of water, Ko Kyung-ju, president of a landscape and architecture company in charge of lighting of the plaza. A miniature of the Cheonggyecheon Stream has waterways with optical fiber that make a fantastic night view after sunset. The floor of the waterways changes colors every hour, adding to a festive mood on weekends or holidays.
The restoration process proceeded with citizens'voluntary participation. A case in point is two walls made with 20,000 tiles, being built in the Cheonggyecheon restoration project's section between Hwanghak-gyo and Biudang-gyo bridges.The walls, covering 220 sq. meters, are called "The Wall of Participation of Cheonggyecheon Restoration and Harmony,"a symbol of people's get-together, harmony, and yearning for peace and unification of the Korean Peninsula. Seoulites put their own calligraphy or drawings on the restored walls, including ones containing such memorable moments of the past as swimming at the River. Voluntary participants have paid 20,000 won for the cost of manufacturing each tile.
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Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, the architect of the restoration of the Cheonggyecheon Stream, acknowledges citizens for joy following the maiden flow of water along the restored stream in the heart of Seoul on June 1.

"Wall of Culture,"mural paintings by five porcelain artists

The Mojeon-gyo Bridge, one of the 24 bridges spanning over the restored stream.

"Tunnel Fountain"
near the Biudang-gyo Bridge


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