By Kay Scrimger
June 23, 2003

"I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans, and I've seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

— Langston Hughes

What makes a community? What do people remember? How does the environment affect cultural identity? Why is a bird's song important? Does it matter if you can, or cannot, walk along a river flowing through your downtown?

In 1965, in order to clear the way to erect fourteen buildings, Jeju City, Korea, entirely covered the Sangi River in its downtown area, a river rich with history, nostalgia, and meaning to the citizens. Jeju City Mayor Tae-Hwan Kim, who led the fight to "save the river and save the city," described how his city government withstood criticism and political pressure to uncover and restore the river and its surroundings.

In Kim's words, "this is the perfect example of the purpose of sustainable development," in which the people of Jeju and the local government worked together to resurrect the river. Its cost was equivalent to 17 percent of the city's annual budget, and "took six years, 12,000 people, and 4,547 pieces of heavy equipment" to do the job, completed in May 2002," the mayor said.

The city government under Kim's leadership undertook this costly and courageous project because of its belief in the importance of the river as a cultural, historic, and environmentally important landmark.

As the mayor said, "We cannot think of the lives of Jeju citizens without the Sangi River. Anyone who spent his/her childhood in Jeju City can never forget the nostalgia of the river when clean and fresh water flowed in it. The memory of catching eel or sweet fish and swimming with friends would occur to us. The Sangi River would remind us of the sight of our mother and older sister washing clothes and carrying water with the traditional container (mul hubuk)."

Covering of the Sangi River resulted in severe damage to the ecology and environment, and contamination, pollution, and safety issues soon became evident and worsened over the next three decades. Uncovering the river, however, posed serious economic and political issues of displacement of and compensation to those living on the land covering the river, compensation to the building owners, costs of demolition of the buildings, and the costs of cultural and ecological restoration.

The city engaged the community and citizens and gained the political will to make the economic and social sacrifices surrounding the project. The positive effects have been significant:

• Restoration of a beautiful and culturally significant natural resource—the return of life to the river;
• Increase in tourism;
• Strengthened economy and foundation for future growth; and
• The preservation of collective history, sense of identity, and revitalization of memory for the people of Jeju City.

"This has been an invaluable experience," Kim said. "The Sangi River is now a living river, with clean, fresh water, fish, and birds, trees, and flowers on its banks. This area is a park with walkways along the river, which our citizens and tourists can now enjoy. We are proud of the sustainable development we have achieved.

"I am also very pleased to have participated in this International Conference of Mayors and have learned a great deal about what it means to be a mayor. This collective effort is so important to all of us and for the future development of all our cities," Kim said.