The Banpo Bridge () is a major

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

for vehicular traffic over the Han River in central

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. It is a double-decked bridge, and is above the pedestrian Jamsu Bridge. The bridge is a popular tourist attraction, and is known for its daily Moonlight Rainbow Fountain and light shows between April and October. , the bridge holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for longest fountain bridge in the world. It is centrally located in Seoul, and accessible via public transportation.

Description

The bridge is situated over the Han River, and connects

Seobinggo-dong Seobinggo-dong () is a '' dong'' (neighbourhood) of Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea. It is directly across the river from Banpo-dong, Seocho District, with the Banpo Bridge connecting the two neighbourhoods. Its Hanja name literally means ...

Yongsan District Yongsan District (, ) is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 231,685 (2020) and has a geographic area of , and is divided into 19 ''Dong (administrative division), dong'' (administrati ...

with

Banpo-dong Banpo-dong () is a ''Dong (administrative division), dong'' (neighborhood) of Seocho District, Seoul, South Korea. Banpo-dong is divided into five different dong which are Banpobon-dong, Banpo 1-dong, 2-dong, 3-dong and 4-dong. The neighborhood ...

Seocho District Seocho District () is one of the 25 districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Seocho is a part of the Gangnam region, along with the Gangnam district of Seoul. Seocho District ranks as one of the richest neighborhoods in South K ...

. It is wide and long. The bridge is intended for vehicular traffic. It is the first double deck bridge built in South Korea. It is also a major landmark of the city and attracts both locals and tourists.

Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

Since April 2009, the bridge has had a fountain off its west side called Moonlight Rainbow Fountain (). On November 7, 2008, the bridge was awarded the Guinness World Record for longest fountain bridge in the world. The bridge has 38 water pumps and 380 nozzles installed. It also has speakers, lights, and projectors. Five to six times per day from April to October, the fountain has a 20 minute water and light show. This occurs only if there is good weather. It has projectors that can display images on the water. The show is set to music that includes various popular South Korean and international songs. The set list is available online. Additionally, Banpo Hangang Park organizes the "Moonlight Square Cultural Weekend" every Saturday from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. between May and October. This event showcases a range of musical genres, including classical music with commentary,

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

popera Operatic pop, pop-opera or popera is a subgenre of pop music that is performed in an operatic singing style or a song, theme or motif from classical music stylized as pop. The subgenre is often performed by classical crossover singers and acts, ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

brass bands A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

, and

orchestras An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

Jamsu Bridge

Beneath Banpo Bridge is the pedestrian Jamsu Bridge. It is wide and long. During periods of high rainfall, the Jamsu Bridge is designed to submerge as the water level of the river rises, as the lower deck lies close to the waterline. It often hosts cultural events such as a yearly fall market with live music and food trucks.

History

The lower Jamsu Bridge was completed in 1979, before Banpo Bridge. Banpo Bridge began construction on August 11, 1980 and was completed in November 1982. It cost W22 billion to build (US$20 million). Its construction was intended to reduce traffic load on the

Hangang Bridge The Hangang Bridge () crosses the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. It connects the districts of Yongsan to the north and Dongjak to the south, and crosses over the artificial island of Nodeulseom. The bridge carries eight lanes of traffic. T ...

. Jamsu Bridge was made into an elevated arch shape in 1986, in order to accommodate tourist cruise ships passing underneath it. The bridge went under repairs from December 30, 1994 to June 30, 1996. It underwent more repairs from December 1998 to 2002. From October 2003 and 2005, it was repaved.

Gallery

Korea Seoul after April Showers 02 (14072732474).jpg, View from the side of the bridge (2014) Jamsu Bridge at Night.jpg, View of the bridge from the water at night (2009)

References

External links

{{Bridges in Asia, South Korea Bridges in Seoul Bridges completed in 1982 Bridges over the Han River (Korea) 1982 establishments in South Korea 20th-century architecture in South Korea Seoul Future Heritages