Daylighting (streams) - in Other Countries

In Other Countries

Seoul provides one example of a major world city rediscovering its river. Mayor Lee Myung Bak, formerly a construction magnate with the Hyundai chaebol involved in burying the river during the 1960s boom, ran for office promising to daylight it, and achieved in 2005 a 5.8 km (3.6 mi) greenspace in a city without very many parks or playgrounds. Although this is not a true daylighting project—the original seasonal and polluted stream runs below the stunningly engineered and landscaped new, artificial waterway—the Cheonggyecheon, "pristine stream", is hugely popular, alleviating fears that opening the river would cause nearby businesses to lose customers.