Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Norway

How Korea brought a river back to life: The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project

Karla Zamudio

Rivers are an essential part of human life. Not only do they supply water, but we use them for transport, trade, and recreation. In traditional Asian philosophies such as ‘Pungsu’ (Feng Shui in Chinese) rivers offer a positive flow of energy, air circulation, and solid biochemical conditions for life to thrive, thus playing a major role in Asia’s landscape change.

The Cheonggyecheon was a natural stream, one of the Han River’s tributaries. When Seoul became the capital of the Joseon dynasty, a social hub flourished along its banks. After the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953), the nearby area developed into an irregular settlement, turning the river into open sewage and a public health hazard for the city. 

As Seoul went into rapid urbanization, the brook got paved over and in 1968, they built the ‘Cheonggye Elevated Highway’ instead. It became a symbol of Korea’s progress; carrying over 170,000 vehicles every day. 

Between the 1980s and 1990s, its surroundings had grown into a noisy commercial area. However, the roadway was already showing heavy signs of deterioration and fearing its collapse, scholars and intellectuals started discussing its demolition along with a rather radical idea: restoring the stream to its original state. 

By 2002, the Cheongggyecheon Restoration Project turned into a reality and a pillar of soon-to-be-elected Mayor of Seoul, who advocated for a paradigm shift in which the people’s quality of life and functioning ecosystems were the focus of urban development. Despite vehement opposition from businesses that faced closing down, the proposal received support by the overwhelming majority of the residents in Seoul.

The municipality allocated a budget of 380 billion won (345.2 million USD) and 700,000 employees started working on rehabilitating 5.8 km of the creek in 2003. The project was divided into 8 stages and lasted 2 years and 3 months. During this they demolished, rehabilitated national historical sites, built bridges; and created ecological rest areas and decks to make the area near downtown Seoul pedestrian-friendly. They also had to come up with solutions to ensure sound water cleanliness standards, flood prevention, and sewage improvement.

Since its opening in 2005, Cheonggyecheon has received over 200 million visitors. It has become one of Seoul’s biggest tourist attractions, a cultural center, and an oasis in the metropolis for both the native wildlife and the citizens. It has attracted copious investments and the admiration of international governments who have traveled to Seoul to carry out case studies hoping to replicate the same model back in their hometowns. 

Sources: 

[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225482289_Fengshui_theory_in_urban_landscape_planning

[2] https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002061601

[3] https://urban-regeneration.worldbank.org/Seoul

[4] https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB7972.pdf

[5] https://use.metropolis.org/case-studies/seoul-urban-renewal-cheonggyecheon-stream-restoration

[6] https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design-guide/streets/special-conditions/elevated-structure-removal/case-study-cheonggyecheon-seoul-korea/

[7] https://globaldesigningcities.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/GDCI_Webinar-Series-1_Prof-Noh_Cheonggyecheon-Restoration-Project_Seoul.pdf

Video: 

“Seoul's Viewpoint: Cheonggyecheon Stream”, by Seoul City Official

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFif2X1JbzY

Photos:

[1] https://www.kcet.org/history-society/from-freeways-to-waterways-what-los-angeles-can-learn-from-seoul

[2] http://www.sisul.or.kr/grobal/cheonggye/eng/WebContent/index.html

[3] https://wwf.panda.org/?204454/Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-river