A must visit in South Korea
Cheonggyecheong Stream
Impressive right?
Cheonggyecheon is an 8.4 km long, modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development required it to be covered by transportation infrastructure.
The $900 million project initially attracted much public criticism but,
after opening in 2005, has become popular among city residents and tourists.
In July 2003, then-Seoul mayor, Lee Myung-bak
initiated a project to remove the elevated highway and restore the
stream. It was a major undertaking as not only did the highway have to
be removed, but as years of neglect and development had left the stream
nearly totally dry, 120,000 tons of water were to be pumped in daily
from the Han River, its tributaries, and groundwater from subway
stations. At that time, safety problems also occurred due to the deteriorated
concrete construction. Despite this, restoration of Cheonggyecheon was
deemed important as it fit in with the movement to re-introduce nature
to the city and to promote a more eco-friendly urban design. Other goals
of the project were to restore the history and culture of the region,
which had been lost for 30 years, and to revitalize the economy of
metropolis, Seoul.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government established several organizations
to oversee the successful restoration of Cheonggyecheon: The
Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project Headquarters for the control of the
whole project, Citizen's Committee for Cheonggyecheon Restoration
Project for the management of conflict between Seoul Metropolitan
Government and the union of merchants, and Cheonggyecheon Restoration
Research Corps for the establishment and review of the restoration plan.
To address the consequent traffic problem,
the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project Headquarters established traffic
flow measures in the downtown section affected by the restoration work
and coordinated changes in the downtown traffic system based on the
research of the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Research Corps.
The restoration of two historic bridges, Gwangtonggyo and Supyogyo,
was also a contentious issue, as several interest groups voiced opinions
on how to restore historical and cultural sites and remains, and
whether replace the bridges or not.
The Cheonggyecheon restoration project had the purpose of preserving
the unique identity of the natural environment and the historic
resources in the CBD of Seoul, and to reinforce the surrounding business area with information technology, international affairs and digital industries. The plan also encouraged the return of the pedestrian-friendly road
network connecting the stream with traditional resources, e.g. Bukchon, Daehangno,
Jungdong, Namchon and Donhwamungil. This network system, named the CCB
(Cheonggyecheon Culture Belt), tried to build up the foundation of
cultural and environmental basis of the city.
I was really stunt by the beauty of the place...
just check out the pictures of the place below
Just like everyone else, enjoying the place
things that you should know is....
The stream was opened to the public in September 2005 and was lauded as a major success in urban renewal and beautification. However, there was considerable opposition from the previous mayoral administration of Goh Kun, which feared gentrification of the adjacent areas that housed many shops and small businesses in the machine trades.
Creating the environment with clean water and natural habitats was
the most significant achievement of the project. Species of fish, birds,
and insects have increased significantly as a result of the stream
excavation. The stream helps to cool down the temperature on the nearby areas by 3.6 °C on average versus other parts of Seoul.
The number of vehicles entering downtown Seoul has shown a decrease of
2.3%, with an increasing number of users of buses (by 1.4%) and subways
(by 4.3% - daily average of 430,000 people) as a result of the
demolition of the two heavily-used roads. This supposedly has a positive influence by improving the atmospheric environment in the region.
The project attempted to promote the urban economy through amplifying
urban infrastructure for a competitive city within the existing
business and industrial area centered on the stream. The Urban renewal
project was the catalyst of revitalization in downtown Seoul. Cheonggyecheon became a centre for cultural and economic activities.
Cheonggyecheon restoration work also brought balance to the areas
both in south and north of the stream. During the modernization era,
downtown Seoul
was divided into two parts, north-south, based on their features and
function. The restoration helped to join these two parts in order to
create a new urban structure connecting the cultural and environmental
resources in northern and southern areas of the stream (Hwang n.d.),
resulting in a balanced and sustainable development of northern and
southern areas of the Han River.
The project resulted in a speeding-up in traffic around the city when
the motorway was removed. This has been cited as a real-life example of
Braess's paradox.
hahaha, a very nice place for dating as well..paparazzi in the house yo! XD
Check out the picture below
couples all over the place.....perfect place for dating right? haha =P
Nice right?
So how do you get there?
You can basically take all these subway line below to get there;
Subway Line 1: City Hall Station, Jonggak Station, Jongno 3-ga Station,
Jongno 5-ga Station, Dongdaemun Station, Sinseoldong Station
Subway Line 2: Euljiro 1-ga Station, Euljiro 3-ga Station, Euljiro 4-ga Station, Sindang Station, Sangwangsibni Station
Subway Line 3: Jongno 3-ga Station
Subway Line 4: Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station
Subway Line 5: Gwanghwamun Station
Exit towards Cheonggyecheon Stream
Subway Line 2: Euljiro 1-ga Station, Euljiro 3-ga Station, Euljiro 4-ga Station, Sindang Station, Sangwangsibni Station
Subway Line 3: Jongno 3-ga Station
Subway Line 4: Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station
Subway Line 5: Gwanghwamun Station
Exit towards Cheonggyecheon Stream
Perfect Dating Place
=)
Photo credit to Ho Wei Zheng
4 comments:
Looks like a beautiful longkang. hahaha
KtheBlogger.com
wow~wutt a special place...thanks 4d share might as well b a paparazi there later...=)
LOVE THE PICTURES. I was planning to travel to Seoul alone so thanks alot for the info on subway lines !
WOw Seoul is beautiful!
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