Cheonggyecheon (청계천 in Korean) has become one of my favorite places. It’s essentially a stream that runs 5.8 kilometers through downtown Seoul and eventually empties out into the Han river. It’s home to many pieces of art, both in the water and on the walls. It’s set about 15-20 feet below the street level, although there are stairs every few hundred feet going up to the street level. I’ve gone there a few times over the last week or so, mainly because it’s so close to City Hall, the Hi Seoul Festival, and the Seoul Friendship Fair (all previously blogged about).

The lit lanterns were hung in celebration of Buddha’s Birthday (traditionally the eighth day of the fourth month on the lunar calendar – for 2008 it was April 12th). Note the cityscape in the background – this stream literally runs through the heart of downtown Seoul (Cheonggyechon, 8 May 2008).

A little history lesson is in order to understand how a stream manages to run through a city for 5.8 kilometers – almost 3 miles. A very through history lesson is here, but during the 1960’s the stream was covered with concrete for roads, and in 1968 an elevated highway was built over it, called the Cheonggye Expressway:

However, the elevated highway became unsafe – it’s use was actually banned in the mid-90’s. In July 2003, then Seoul mayor Lee Myung-Bak (now the president) started a 900 billion won campaign ($900 million dollars) to clean up / beautify the stream. Although the project had some controversy to it (that’s a LOT of money, after all) the stream was opened to the public in September 2005. According to Wikipedia, another 12 trillion won ($12 billion dollars) is expected to be spent on renovating the stores and other nearby areas to the stream.

It’s certainly money well-spent, although it is a LOT of money. Since the renovation, it’s become a great place to walk (especially for couples on a date). See for yourself!

At the beginning of Cheonggyecheon is this needle / spiral tower, signifying a meeting place to some and an interesting piece of modern art to others (Cheonggyecheon, 8 May 2008).

As you walk Cheonggyecheon you’ll walk parallel to the stream, enjoying the sights along the way. The lit statue in this picture is of some mythical-looking Korean dragons (Cheonggyecheon, 8 May 2008).

A lit statue of a traditional Korean drum (Cheonggyecheon, 8 May 2008)

All in all, you can travel this stream for several miles – and be in a very different part of Seoul from where you started! Most will walk for awhile, then head up the stairs towards a dinner, a drink, or a subway or bus ride home.

To get to the start of Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggyecheon Plaza), go to the City Hall staton on line 1, exit 4 (though other subway stations come close as well). Walk straight for a couple hundred meters until you see the aforementioned needle / spiral-like tower on the right. If you miss it you’re going blind, and seriously need to get your eyes / glasses / contacts checked. Walk towards the needle / spiral-like tower and you’ll see the plaza and stream beyond it.