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Culture of the Cheonggyecheon

Located in downtown Seoul, the Cheonggyecheon had one of the Important functions -drainage. Seoul could remain as the capital for five centuries during the Joseon Dynasty, as the stream acted as the drainage for household wastewater. It also acted as a public rest place.

During festive days, Seoulites were engaged in the act of treading on bridges over the stream (based on the folk belief that one would be immune to diseases by treading on a bridge, taking the same number of steps as one's age), and flying kites, marching with lotus lanterns in hand, and a stone throwing fight on spaces along the stream. The stream was also part of the everyday life of Seoulites.

Women gathered there to wash clothes and children used the spaces along the stream as their playground. Those who left their native village to find a job built a long line of makeshift houses along the stream. Thus, it is a place that has witnessed joys and sorrows of Seoulites over the past six centuries.