[Editorial] Virtues and Flaws of New Cheonggye Stream

The opening ceremony of the Cheonggye Stream starts today, but fish, insects and birds are already swarming in the waterway. Egrets, mallards, Chinese minnows, carp, catfish, children and adults mix together as if friends. It’s been 44 years since the Cheonggye Stream was covered in 1961. The heroes of this story are the scholars, artists and civic groups who dreamed of the restoration of the Cheonggye Stream and pushed it, the Hankyoreh, which informed the world of their hopes, and the Seoul City officials who brought those dreams into fruition. No less virtuous were the Seoul citizens who quietly endured while they suffered restrictions on their livelihoods following the start of construction.

The capping of the Cheonggye Stream and the elevated highway were symbols of the predatory modernization, which strove for only competition, speed and efficiency. The clothes factories that were in its shadow were symbols of the value of life, namely the trampling of human rights, justice, culture and nature for economic efficiency. Now with the restoration of the Cheonggye Stream the forgotten history of life has been revived and our friends of nature that were forced out have returned. The restoration of the stream has become an opportunity to do away with the sorcery of the predatory modernization and take another look at the value of life.

Accordingly, revealing the flaws of the the new Cheonggye Stream is just as important as praising its virtues. Firstly is the half-half manner in which if was restored. The stream has been filled with water from the Han River, but in fact, it’s closer to an artificial waterway. The tributaries that used to bring water into the Cheonggye Stream from the countless ravines of Mt. Bukak, Mt. Inwang, Mt. Gaeun and Mt. Nam are still buried underground. Because the construction prioritized results, the restoration of cultural properties was sloppy or the original forms damaged. A greenbelt was not secured around the stream, and it could not revive the benefits of a natural stream. If the surrounding areas are densely developed, the Cheonggye Stream will not become a friend of the people, but a trinket of capital and politics.

The new Cheonggye Stream is the start of change. Let resolve things by keeping in mind that Paris spent three years gathering the opinions of citizens and scholars to restore a tributary of the Seine River to its natural state.

The Hankyoreh, 1 October 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (MH)]