Cheonggyecheon Stream

Cheonggyecheon is a restored urban stream that runs 11 kilometres through the centre of Seoul, its banks developed as a linear park with paths, sculptures, and places to sit at water level below the street. After dark the stream is lit and the surrounding bridges are illuminated, making it a pleasant evening walk for locals and visitors.

Access points are stairways from the street every few hundred metres. The western end near Gwanghwamun Square is the busiest; as you walk east the crowds thin and the character becomes more local. The stream is particularly pleasant on summer evenings when the temperature above street level is significantly higher. This is one of the more successful examples of urban stream restoration in Asia.

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A story
Until 2003, the Cheonggyecheon was buried under an elevated highway. Mayor Lee Myung-bak (later President) ran his 2002 election campaign partly on a promise to restore it, demolishing the 6km highway and uncovering the stream beneath. The project took two years and cost $900 million, and the stream is now artificially maintained at a steady flow pumped from the Han River — but the cooling effect on the surrounding urban canyon is measurable and real.