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Cheonggyecheon

The 883rd longest river in the world

km

Cheonggyecheon (Korean pronunciation: [t͡ɕʰʌŋ.ɡje.t͡ɕʰʌn]) 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 remove the expressway and restore the stream, which was completed in 2005 at a cost of over ₩386 billion (approximately US$281 million). The Cheonggyecheon restoration project initially attracted significant public criticism, but since its opening in 2005 it has become popular among residents and tourists.

Flows through: South Korea.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.

Other major rivers

  1. Amazon6,992 km
  2. Nile6,650 km
  3. Yangtze River6,300 km
  4. Bian River5,806 km
  5. Yellow River5,464 km
  6. Paraná River4,880 km
  7. River Congo4,700 km
  8. Mekong River4,350 km