Thursday, 6th of June of 2019
Oh! Only two days and I get to see Jung Il-woo… so surreal! Today I ventured into the ancient history of Seoul as I visited two palaces. These were the places I am so thankful I visited… they were so beautiful!!!
Cheonggyecheon Stream
Changgyeonggung Palace
Changdeokgung Palace including the Huwon (Secret Garden)
The Cheonggyecheon Stream (청계천) was originally named “Gaecheon (“open stream”) after the first refurbishment project to construct a drainage system during the Joseon Dynasty. The work, which included dredging and bolstering the banks of the stream and building the bridges, was carried out every 2-3 years during this period from the reign of Taejong, the third king of the Joseon Dynasty. King Jeonjo especially undertook the refurbishment work as a national project.
Gacheon was renamed to Cheonggyecheon, its current name, during the period when Japan ruled by Hirohito dominated Korea. During this time, financial difficulties disrupted and prevented the Imperial Japanese forces from covering up the stream despite several attempts to do so.
After the Korean War (1950–1953), 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 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, then-Seoul mayor, Lee Myung-bak initiated a project to remove the elevated highway and restore the stream. It 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. There were safety problems due to the deteriorated concrete. Still, 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 Seoul’s economy.
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 an 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 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. This has a positive influence by improving the atmospheric environment in the region.
Cr. Wikipedia.
Bravo!!!
I loved walking loved this stream… there were birds and fish and my favorite… red dragon flies! Here are my photos…
I think we have to have an Il-woo break of the Yeongjo King kind! Ready? Yassss!
Such a gorgeous king our price has become!
Yes! So beautiful! But can you believe it is about to be even more majestic?
Changgyeonggung Palace
I actually started seeing this palace thinking I was in Changdeokgung. Fortunately, I realized it in time as I had to get to the garden tour: The Huwon! I went back to the entrance to the person who took my ticket and he explained that if I walked the palace all the way to the end, there would be an entrance for Changdeokgung… they are even spelled so alike, but I noticed the two ggs. I’m pretty beat so I’m going to save this palace for later .. it’s just too much!
Changdeokgung Palace including the Huwon (Secret Garden)
This was so gorgeous… I will never forget the colors on the ceilings and the beauty of the garden… WOOw! WOOw! WOOw!
This palace was established in 1395 and built by 1405. Originally is was a detached royal villa. Of all the palaces it is the best preserved and the one that harmonizes the best with the nature around it. More on its stories coming soon to the section Visiting Korea!
Coming up my favorite photo so far… my eyes tear up just thinking of how perfect this moment was… the bird singing… it seemed out of the fairy tale “The Nightingale.”
So happy! So blessed to have been in this beautiful creation of human kind! Such beautiful energy in this place!