The restoration of Cheong Gye Cheon stream signals the series of projects aimed at “greening” Seoul. It is also a testament that urban decay can be turned around with an unbridled passion and ambition. Consider this: a major highway was uprooted to give life again to a stream that had been effectively buried alive for 600 years.
By way of background: During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), Cheong Gye Cheon is a stream running through central Seoul from west to east. Housewives gathered at the stream to do laundry, while their children played together. But in the 1900s until after the Korean War (1950-1953), people who left their homes in rural areas to find jobs or a better living in Seoul built one makeshift house after another along the stream, making the area a shantytown. In 1958, efforts to improve the poor aesthetic condition of the Cheong Gye Cheon began by covering the stream with concrete and this work continued for the ensuing twenty years, In 1976, an elevated highway was built over the top. Consequently, the Cheong Gye Cheon, vanished.
Lee Myuing Bak the mayor of Seoul then (and later, South Korea’s president), greenlighted the restoration project. Storeowners and street vendors that operated small businesses along the stream as well as commuters and urban developers, initially objected to the project. However, they finally understood that the restoration of Cheonggyecheon is important as it fit in with the movement to re-introduce nature to the city and to promote a more eco-friendly urban design.
Work commenced on July 21, 2003 and was completed in October 1, 2005. It has since then become popular to city residents and to tourists. A tourist information officer told me that each week, over 500,00 people walk alongside the stream. In the mornings, groups of brightly clad ajummas (married laides) power-walk along the paths while lovebirds walk slowly arm-in-arm at night when the banks are lit up. There is also a growing number of fish and birds returning to the stream.
The images accompanying shows the resulting restored stream, taken during my visit last April 30, 2015.
