The Cheonggyecheon stream, pictured above, initially flowed
openly through the city. But in the period following the Korean War, as more
people flocked to Seoul from the countryside, trash and waste accumulated on its banks, transforming the once-peaceful stream
into essentially an open sewer. It was covered up by concrete in the late
1950s, and eventually buried beneath an elevated highway.
But the Cheonggyecheon would see the light of day once more: in 2005 it was freed from its concrete dungeon and re-opened to the public as part of an urban renewal project. Today the stream is a popular slice of tranquility in the middle of the city's central business district.
Courtesy of koreaBANG
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