Cheonggyecheon ( Korean : 청계천 , Korean pronunciation: [t͡ɕʰʌ̹ŋ.ɡje̞.t͡ɕʰʌ̹ːn] ) is a 10.9-kilometre-long (6.8 mi) stream and public space in downtown Seoul , South Korea. A natural stream sourced from the Suseongdong Valley in Inwangsan , it was historically maintained as part of Seoul's early sewerage until the mid-20th century, when post- Korean War rapid economic development and deteriorating conditions prompted the filling of the stream with concrete and the construction of an elevated freeway , the Cheonggye Expressway, in its place. In 2003, the city government began an urban renewal project to disassemble the expressway and restore the stream, which was completed in 2005 at a cost of over ₩386 billion (approximately US$ 281 million).
25-556: The Cheonggyecheon restoration project initially attracted significant public criticism, but since its opening in 2005 it has become popular among residents and tourists . Cheonggyecheon is an 10.84 km (6.74 mi) stream flowing west to east through downtown Seoul , and then meeting Jungnangcheon , which connects to the Han River and empties into the Yellow Sea . The stream was named as Gaecheon ("open stream") after
50-710: A day's round trip of any major city. International tourists come primarily from nearby countries or regions in Asia. Japan , mainland China , Hong Kong and Taiwan together account for roughly 75% of the total number of international tourists. In addition, the Korean Wave has brought increasing numbers of tourists from Southeast Asia and India. The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is targeting 100,000 arrivals from India in 2013. The number of Korean domestic tourists has increased since 2010. The number of people who participated in domestic travel (which includes one-day trips)
75-745: A group tour ban after the US military deployed the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. From April 2017, Chinese tourists plummeted by more than 60% compared to the previous year. In 2020, the South Korean tourism industry made it a long-term goal to reduce its dependency on Chinese tourists. Since Lee Myung-bak 's visit to the Liancourt Rocks and his demand for an apology from
100-563: A result of the political status of the rocks. Many local districts hold annual festivals, such as the Boryeong Mud Festival and the Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival. In addition, people in South Korea come to Seoul to enjoy various cultural activities. Due to the metropolitan area centralization of the cultural infrastructure, there is a cultural gap between Seoul and other regions. According to
125-553: Is held every August and Busan International Film Festival is held every October. Jagalchi Cultural Festival is developed into a representative cultural tourism festival in Korea. Because of these various festivals and places, many people travel to Busan. Also, the influence of Social Network Service made Busan a popular tourist attraction. The official Facebook of the Busan Culture and Tourism Ministry and official blog sites promote
150-476: Is the principal tourist destination for visitors; popular tourist destinations outside of Seoul include the major coastal city of Busan , the Seorak-san national park, the historic city of Gyeongju and subtropical Jeju Island . The majority of the South Korean tourist industry is supported by domestic tourism. Thanks to the country's extensive network of trains and buses, most of the country lies within
175-576: The Emperor of Japan over Japanese colonialism in Korea in 2012, the Japanese public's image of South Korea deteriorated significantly. Japanese tourists to South Korea halved from 3.5 million in 2012 to 1.8 million in 2015, while South Korean tourists to Japan doubled from 2 million in 2012 to 4 million in 2015. South Korea's historical tourist attractions include the ancient capitals of Seoul , Gyeongju and Buyeo . Some natural landmarks include
200-632: The Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design from Harvard University 's Graduate School of Design . 37°34′12″N 127°0′23″E / 37.57000°N 127.00639°E / 37.57000; 127.00639 Tourism in South Korea Tourism in South Korea and its industry caters to both foreign and domestic tourists. In 2023, 11.0 million foreign tourists visited South Korea , making it
225-640: The urban heat island effect: along the stream, temperatures are 3.3° to 5.9 °C cooler than on a parallel road 4-7 blocks away. The number of vehicles entering downtown Seoul has decreased by 2.3%, with an increasing number of users of buses (by 1.4%) and subways (by 4.3%: a daily average of 430,000 people) as a result of the demolition of the two heavily used roads. Between 2003 and the end of 2008, use of buses increased by 15.1% and use of subway by 3.3% in Seoul. With air pollution reduced by 35% from 74 to 48 micrograms per cubic meter, respiratory diseases among
250-514: The 20th most visited country in the world. Most non-Korean tourists come from East Asia and North America , such as Taiwan and the United States. The popularity of Korean popular culture , often known as the " Korean Wave ", in countries around the world has significantly increased tourist arrivals. South Korea has 16 World Heritage Sites , including Changdeokgung Palace , Namhansanseong and Hwaseong Fortress . Seoul
275-776: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 36.4 percent of the total cultural infrastructure such as public library, museum, and art galleries are concentrated in Seoul. Therefore, many people in South Korea travel to Seoul. The Seoul Trail is a walking trail that goes around the city. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea. It is located in the southeastern coast in Korea, so Busan has abundant tourist attractions such as beach and hot spring. People in South Korea visit beaches in Busan in hot summer. Also, there are various festivals in Busan. 11 festivals are held annually, including local festivals and art events. Busan sea festival
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#1732790982305300-555: The city's eco-environment. Instead of using the restoration as an instrument of urban development the environmental organizations have called for a gradual long-term ecological and historical recovery of the entire Cheonggyecheon stream basin and its ecological system. The cost of managing Cheonggyecheon has been rising every year. From October 2005 to the end of 2016, maintenance and management cost of Cheonggyecheon totalled ₩85.7 billion, which averaged out to ₩7.1 billion per year. The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project has received in 2010
325-406: The city. The stream was covered up with concrete over 20 years starting in 1958, and a 5.6 km-long (3.5 mi), 16 m-wide (52 ft) elevated highway was completed in 1976. The area became an example of successful industrialization and modernization of South Korea. In July 2003, Mayor of Seoul Lee Myung-bak , initiated a project to remove the elevated highway and restore the stream. It
350-495: The first refurbishment project to construct a drainage system during the Joseon period. The work, which included dredging and bolstering the banks of the stream and building bridges, was carried out every 2–3 years during this period from the reign of Taejong , the third king of Joseon. King Yeongjo especially undertook the refurbishment work as a national project. Gaecheon was renamed to Cheonggyecheon, its current name, when Korea
375-502: The peaks of the Baekdudaegan , particularly Seorak-san and Jiri-san , the caves of Danyang and Hwanseongul , and beaches such as Haeundae and Mallipo . Apart from Jeju island, there are many smaller islands. Excursion ferries are quite common along the south and west coasts and also to Ulleung-do Island, off the east coast. Limited tourism mainly by South Koreans to the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo) has grown in recent years as
400-414: 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. Indeed, the price of land within 50 meters of the stream has increased by 30-50%, double the rate of property increases in other areas of Seoul. From 2002 to 2003, Cheonggyecheon area also saw a 3.5% increase in the number of businesses, which
425-526: 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 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
450-623: The residents of the area have been considerably reduced; before the restoration, they were more than twice as likely to suffer from respiratory disease as those in other parts of the city. The project sped up traffic around the city when the motorway was removed. It has been cited as a real-life example of Braess's paradox . Budgeted at ₩349 billion, the final cost of the project was over ₩386 billion (approximately US$ 281 million). Some Korean environmental organizations have criticized its high costs and lack of ecological and historical authenticity, calling it purely symbolic and not truly beneficial to
475-538: 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 to replace the bridges or not. The Cheonggyecheon restoration project had
500-696: The tourist attractions in Busan. Byeolmaro Observatory, Donggang Photo Museum, Bongraesan Mountain. Hanbando terrain in Soyanggang River South Korea has hosted many international events, including the 1988 Summer Olympics , the 1993 Taejon Expo , the 2002 FIFA World Cup (jointly hosted with Japan), the 2005 APEC conference, the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit , the 2014 Asian Games , and the 2018 Winter Olympics . 0. For entering South Korea, individuals must apply ETA “ K-ETA ” for visiting visa free program for tourists. Braess%27s paradox Too Many Requests If you report this error to
525-606: Was $ 19,469.9 million. In 2019, the contribution of travel and tourism to the Korean GDP was up 4.2% of the total economy (₩ 81.4 billion). Which accounted for 4.8% of total employment (1.3%). The impact of international visitors accounted for ₩ 26.5 billion (World Travel and Tourism Council). Spending habits include: Visitors arriving to South Korea for tourism by nationality: China has been South Korea's largest tourism source for years. In 2016, visitors from China made up 46.8% of tourists in South Korea. However China imposed
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#1732790982305550-586: Was a major undertaking since the highway had to be removed and years of neglect and development had left the stream nearly dry. 120,000 tons of water were to be pumped in daily from the Han River, its tributaries, and groundwater from subway stations. To address the consequent traffic problem , the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project Headquarters established traffic flow measures in the downtown section affected by
575-439: Was about 238.3 million (in 2015), increased by 4.9% compared to 2014 (227.1 million). In 2014, Korean's domestic tourism expenditure was ₩14.4 trillion. Also, Korean overseas tourist numbers have been increasing since 2010. From 2012 to 2014, the number of South Koreans travelling overseas has risen by about 8.2% on average. In 2014, number of Korean overseas tourists was about 16.1 million. And Korean overseas tourism expenditure
600-627: Was double the rate of business growth in downtown Seoul. And its number of working people also increased by 0.8%, while that of downtown Seoul decreased by 2.6%. Creating an environment with clean water and natural habitats was the most significant achievement of the project. From 2003 (pre-restoration works) to the end of 2008, biodiversity increased by 639%; the number of plant species increased from 62 to 308, fish species from 4 to 25, bird species from 6 to 36, aquatic invertebrate species from 5 to 53, insect species from 15 to 192, mammals from 2 to 4, and amphibians from 4 to 8. The stream helps to reduce
625-466: Was under Japanese rule . During this time, financial difficulties disrupted and prevented Japanese forces from covering up the stream despite several attempts to do so. After the Korean War , more people migrated into Seoul to make their living and settled down along the stream in shabby makeshift houses. The accompanying trash, sand, and waste, and deteriorating conditions resulted in an eyesore for
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