Seoul Snapshots: Yangjaecheon, Cheonggyecheon and Hangang

Hello everyone :) I wanted to tell you that this is the last blog post for EcoHeal. In a few weeks, I will be flying to University of California, Berkeley for my higher education. Realizing that it would not be possible to regularly update a blog dedicated to Seoul from the United States, I made the decision to conclude it with a rather "special" post themed around the waters of the city. You will find below pictures of Yangjaecheon, Cheonggyecheon and the Han River (Hangang) along with my reflections on natural and built environments of the water bodies.  Those of you who have been following EcoHeal would know that Yangjaecheon has been a hugely important focus of my blog; I felt that updates on the stream would be a necessary element for this blog's finale. :) As for Cheonggyecheon and the Han River, I had the chance to visit both in recent months and wished to share what I felt with you. I truly appreciate your encouragement during the last two years, and I hope you enjoy the photos below. Thank you <3 

 Across Hangang. You can see the 63 Building with its sepia glow.

A drive between Gangnam and Gangbuk captures this scene. Hangang is vast: as you can see from the map below, the river runs through the entire city. In fact, as the fourth longest in the country, it flows through Gangwon, Chungbuk and Gyeonggi regions as well. 

The Han River flows from the mountains out to the Yellow Sea.
As the fourth longest in the country it runs through the entire city. 

 The on-going construction of Lotte World Tower
- something I personally don't feel certain about (End of April '15)

What I love about the river is its series of twenty-seven bridges that span throughout within the city limits. I've heard some say that having such a river dividing Seoul into north (Gangbuk) and south (Gangnam) engenders conflicting disparities in the city. In my perhaps naive and inexperienced eyes, however, this landscape is an element that truly belongs. Seoul has gone through incredible changes during the past decades - from the deconstruction of city walls under the Japanese occupation to the development of foreign architects' futuristic designs of public spaces among traditional markets (read a previous post on the Dongdaemun Design Plaza here). As a natural landmark, Hangang has remained. It has been the foundation of cultural development from the Neolithic Age and the center of politics and economy ever since the capital city was set in the area. A unique architectural panorama of different bridges was a natural reaction to foster the communication and transportation between the two parts of Seoul. This view holds a special place inside me; it was during a drive at dawn along Hangang against the city skyline that I realized I had come to truly love my city.

 You can find yourself under the bridges when you head out from the Seoul Forest on your bicycle :)

 Both Yangjaecheon and Cheonggyecheon are sub-tributaries of the Han River. The former leads from Tancheon and the latter form Jungnangcheon. Yangjaecheon and Cheonggyecheon are both regarded as successful environmental recoveries. As I explained in a post last year, the former was recovered to its current state through a restoration project. Whenever I stroll along the wild grasses by the stream, I am filled with utter gratitude. The ecological park of Yangjaecheon feels natural and free. Instead of manicured lawns and kitschy benches with a glossy veneer, we have chest-high porcupine grass and wooden fences with an age-worn familiarity. 

 The familiar scene of Yangjaecheon

 The sky shimmered that day.

Cheonggyecheon, on the other hand, usually gives very different vibes. Located in one of the busiest areas of Seoul, it is surrounded by commercial offices and rows of little shops. It is a busy destination popular with couples and tourists, but a late afternoon walk on a weekday can be very peaceful. 

 Late afternoons on weekdays
- my favorite time to visit Cheonggyecheon

Leading to the Pyounghwa Market

Just like Yangjaecheon, a significant part of flora and fauna returned to Cheonggyecheon after the recovery project and I couldn't be happier about this. Still, it bothers me that the restoration process was much too hurried; it was initiated in 2003 and opened to the public in 2005. Although indiscernible under an unknowing gaze, the water flow is not natural but pumped artificially from below the concrete base, requiring an incredible amount of energy. It remains that Cheonggyecheon has not been truly "recovered". I hope to be able to find a solution for this problem with the wisdom I will grow from studying engineering and environmental design at Berkeley.



Again, thank you for following EcoHeal during the last two years. I feel blessed to have been able to share with you some snapshots from my highschool years in Seoul. If I begin a new blog - perhaps about my new environment in Berkeley - I will make sure to leave a short post here to inform you. Love, Jaewon

Quick Updates: The Late Spring Scene at Yangjaecheon

Hello everyone! I just wanted to give you some updates on our beloved stream.  :) The pearly glow of cherry blossoms is gone now and the quiet, misty green has settled again. Lately, I have been doing some runs along Yangjaecheon as the first activity of the day, so the pictures below were all taken in the early morning. Hope you enjoy :)

A rustic calmness that is the beauty of Yangjaecheon -
a remarkable gem beside the sprawling towers of Gangnam

This layout reminds me of the adorable trolls from Frozen! ;) 

Believe it or not, it was the first time I saw a snail at Yangjaecheon.

After the rain at dawn

Cherry Blossoms of Yangjaecheon

Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom at Yangjaecheon.  It's almost as though I've never seen the stream before. Their scattered petals flutter together in the air, traveling along the water. Perhaps a little strangely, I'm reminded of the ending scene of a childhood favorite - leaves of coral orange and magenta rippling to John Smith from Pocahontas. A truly magical quality in the air. 

A popcorn yellow :)

When the lamp lights shine sepia

"Spring is Here!" from Yangjaecheon...with its own Emerald City? :)

I've taken to running along the stream lately. I figured it was time for some more serious aerobic exercise. ;) I have to admit that the lingering frosty wind sometimes slaps my hair across my face (quite fiercely), but I don't mind when I have the spring sunshine bouncing off my shoulders! Here are some pictures I've taken over the past few days. Hope you enjoy :D

Wizard of Oz, anyone?
The blue of the glass on the building surfaces sometimes flash shades of green
 - dark turquoise, chartreuse, lime. We even have our own yellow brick road! 
I guess we have a view of another Emerald City ;)

Shimmering ripples on the concrete

Fuzzy lilliputian puffs of porcupine grass!

A diagram of the water purification system of Yangjaecheon

Some general history of Yangjaecheon - a focus on Gangnam-gu's efforts
 for its recovery to the ecological park it is today

Skeptics and Deniers: The Conclusion (Part II)

Part of the previous blog post: 

This post is Part I of the conclusion to Skeptics and Deniers, a series of analyses on the book Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years by Fred Singer and Dennis Avery. I'm sorry about the delay in publishing this post :( I really wanted to give a more in-depth review of the book, and the writing became too long to be a single post. That's why I divided it into two parts! Please understand that it took longer to explain my judgments, inferences and opinions in greater detail for a comprehensive review. 

* For those of you who haven't been following these posts, here is a little background information:  the book's  authors assert that Global Warming is simply part of a succession of changes in the Earth's system; there is only weak evidence that Global Warming is anthropogenic; Global Warming might actually be beneficial; we do not have to make an effort to curb CO2 levels, because they aren't responsible for Global Warming.  If you wish to see my analyses posted over the past several months, please check out the previous blog posts: on the Earth and the Sun; the weaknesses of the Greenhouse Theory; Rising Sea Levels; Mass Extinction Part I, and Mass Extinction Part II. 

We've finally reached the end of the book. Looking back at the previous posts of this series, I see so many topics and sub-topics that the authors explored to explain their views. Methods of scientific research, inferences made from statistics, connections between health and climate change, possible misconceptions of the public, the role of politics in influencing mass media, the evolution of foreign policies and protocols, etc. Along with this, the authors present a rather detailed overview of the history of climate change that took place on our Earth. I deeply appreciated this part of the book, in that it gave me a chance to truly reflect on my own views, knowledge and ways of accepting new findings and research.

I also became aware of the limited scope of my understanding of our world. Frequently, when the authors stated the flaws and inaccuracy in research that presented ideas I saw as "facts" e.g., 'Global Warming causes extinction of many species', I couldn't decide which side to lean towards. Should I stick with what I've internalized throughout my entire education so far? Or would it be ignorant to dismiss these new ideas as absurd? The main reason for my indecisiveness was my lack of knowledge of the scientific, social, and political spheres of our world. 

This leads me to another question: how confident are the authors in their own beliefs and ideas? While I was thankful for the aforementioned experience I received from this book, I was puzzled, bewildered, astonished, even incredulous at the way they laid out their information. I cannot possibly list all, but there were so many generalizations, exaggerations, manipulations of words that were used to support their views. A seemingly innocuous sentence such as 'People choose land with higher productivity for agriculture, which inhabits less species, leaving our the rest of the world's land to nature.' At first glance, this single sentence doesn't seem out of the ordinary. However, when looked at just a little more carefully, it is outright wrong. It almost makes it seem as though we only use land for agriculture. We use land left over from agriculture for so many other purposes, such as shelter, transportation, goods production, etc. When sentences like this are scattered around the book, a quick reader would gain the misleading impression that we humans aren't powerful enough to impose great changes in our environment.Why would the authors write such sentences? It certainly helps their opinion that humans aren't really causing so much change on our planet (ex. not causing Global Warming, not driving wild species to extinction). With this realization that I began to see the book as somewhat manipulative. Along with this lingering idea, it was when I noticed other aspects of the book that I began to doubt the credibility of the authors.

I hope I have given you at least a glance at climate skepticism. I realize that I may have been partial to my own beliefs at certain points; I know, however, that I put a lot of effort into presenting an objective view and leaving some points to be interpreted by the readers of my blog. Whatever view an individual has, it is always helpful to be aware of the entire spectrum of viewpoints, as well as the logic and evidence behind them. This may be the only way we can become more certain that decisions we make in our endeavors are not illogical or unfounded but reasonable and substantiated. I hope you have enjoyed this series of blog posts and will begin to explore more on how our planet really works. I will do the same when I go to college and explore to address the questions that I have.

Thank you for supporting me, and I will see you in March!