Cheonggyecheon Stream and livelihood-the upstream of Cheonggyecheon and livelihood

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Luxurious housing complex of Joseon’s upper class The origin of Cheonggyecheon Stream is the Baegun-dong Stream at the south of Inwangsan Mountain, and Baegun-dong flows to the mainstream through the 'Seochon Village' between Inwangsan Mountain and Gyeongbokgung Palace. Baegun-dong is a scenic spot of Hanyang where pure Cheongpunggye Valley merges with the Okleudongcheon Stream. The place between Changdeokgung Palace and Gyeongbokgung Palace, where Samcheong-dong Stream from Bugaksan Mountain flows, is called Bukchon Village. Seochon and Bukchon Village are scenic and close to Gyeongbokgung Palace, so it had luxurious housing complexes where royal and gentry families lived. Until King Taejong was enthroned, he lived here, so his son King Sejong was born in Seochon Village, not in the palace. Around Cheongpunggye Valley at the east of Baegun-dong, Seoin Faction lived for generations. They gathered in a villa with beautiful scenery, and enjoyed a relaxed life through reading, academic discussions, and verse making. Jungin’s Sisa Okleu-dong located at the west of Baegun-dong was famous for the middle class peoples’ meetings for composing poems. In the latter period of Joseon Dynasty, middle class people were engaged in professional jobs, enjoying wealth that surpassed those of noblemens', and were also excellent at confucianism and literature. However, they were discriminated in office due to their status. They relieved their complaints against social discrimination through literary activities; their literary gathering is called ‘Sisa’. Okleu-dong, Songseogwon Sisa, a Sisa that was held at the house of Cheon Su-gyeong, was the most famous meeting. Water-seller During the Little Ice Age of 17th century, there were a lot of bare mountains due to illegal lumbering in Joseon. Because there were no trees that functioned as water reservoirs, when the weather was slightly dry, the wells got arid, and they were polluted by frequent floods. Therefore, a new job was created in Hanyang, which was the water-seller who delivered water to every houses at dawn. Those water-sellers usually delivered the water raised from the wells, but when there were droughts or floods, they had to climb all the way up to the valley in the upstream of Cheonggyecheon to raise water. At that time, the appearance of waters-bearers might have caught foreigners’ eyes. ‘Korea from its Capital’, a book written by G.W. Gilmour says, “The different face of Korean peoples' lives is the water-sellers. Their A-frames are very similar to those that are used by the milkmen in Switzerland or England. They are designed to be carried on the shoulder. The way how they keep even strides without spilling a single drop of water in the full bucket look marvelous in the eyes of foreigners. They did not even place covers to prevent overflow of water.” The upstream of Cheonggyecheon was the lifeline to people. It is hoped that the waterway of upper Cheonggyecheon Stream buried under asphalt could be restored as soon as possible.

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Cheonggyecheon Stream and livelihood-the upstream of Cheonggyecheon and livelihood FAQ

Source

Korea Tourism Organization and Visit Seoul.

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