Seokchon Lake
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Seokchon Lake Park () in
Songpa District, Seoul Songpa District () is one of the List of districts of Seoul, 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. Previously known as Wiryeseong, the first capital of the ancient kingdom of Baekje, Songpa is located in the southeastern part of Seoul. With roughl ...
, South Korea includes Seokchon Lake and Lotte World's Magic Island. The lake's area is and its average depth is about .


History

Seokchon Lake was originally a part of the Han River. There was an island named Burido in the middle of the Han River dividing it into two, Songpa River (the northern part) and Sincheon River (the southern part). In April 1971, a construction project to connect Burido with the mainland began. It proceeded by enlarging the Songpa River and closing the Sincheon River. Due to this construction, the enclosed southern part of the Han River became Seokchon Lake, and the land made by the reclamation project became Jamsil-dong and Sincheon-dong. In the 1970s, following construction, Seokchon Lake and the surrounding area was unsightly. A walking trail was made and trees planted, transforming the area into a park. Later, Seokchon Lake became polluted causing a foul smell. People avoided Seokchon Lake Park due to this. In 2001, Songpagu designated it a tourist attraction and began a maintenance project clearing the water and enabling the ecological system to recover.


East Lake

The East Lake has a trail which is connected to West Lake under the Jamsilhosugyo (Jamsil Lake Bridge). Beside the trail, there are some facilities including some rest area and public restrooms. At the north side, there is a two-floor building which has the Songpa Travel Information Center on the second floor. In October 2014, the
Rubber Duck A rubber duck, or a rubber duckie, is a toy shaped like a duck, that is usually yellow with a flat base. It may be made of rubber or rubber-like material such as vinyl plastic. Rubber ducks were invented in the late 19th century when it became ...
was held on the East Lake by
Lotte Group Lotte Group is a corporate group started by Zainichi Korean businessman Shin Kyuk-ho in South Korea on June 15, 1948, starting with the South Korea, South Korean Lotte Co., composed of Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings (Japan) and Lotte Corporati ...
to celebrate the opening of the new Lotte World Mall. Also, the Super Moon Project was held in September 2016, an art project planned by the art collaborative group FriendsWithYou. The Super Moon is a 60-foot inflatable sculpture surrounded by a garden of eight symbolic planets of color and light.


West Lake

The West Lake is 112,065 m2 large and is slightly larger than the East Lake. Around the West Lake, there are Seoul Playground and Lotte World's Magic Island.


Seoul play ground

Seoul play ground () is an outdoor stage located inside Seokchon Lake Park where different kinds of folk arts are performed. It was built in 1984 for the presentation and preservation of Korean traditional folk art. The whole facility is 8,250 m2 large, and seats are 825 m2 large having seating capacity of 1,500. The building is a traditional style tile-roofed house, which has hip-and-gable roof and entasis columns. Annually from April to October, Intangible Cultural Property and fusion folk art performance are held every weekend. Also, special performances are perform in traditional holidays of Korea (
Seollal () is a Korean traditional festival and national holiday commemorating the first day of the Korean lunisolar calendar. It is one of the most important traditional holidays for ethnic Koreans, being celebrated in both North Korea and South ...
,
Daeboreum Daeboreum () is a Korean holiday that celebrates the first full moon of the new year of the lunar Korean calendar. This holiday is accompanied by many traditions. Origins The record about the origin of Daeboreum is recorded in the book ''Sam ...
,
Chuseok Chuseok (; , ), also known as Hangawi (; ; from Old Korean, "the great middle f autumn), is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunisolar calendar on the ...
).
Songpa Sandae Noli ''Songpasandae-nori'' () is a type of ''sandae noli'', Korean traditional mask play which has been handed down in the neighborhoods of Songpa-dong and Garak-dong in modern-day Seoul, South Korea. ''Sandae Noli'' is a mask dance that developed i ...
, sheaf burning are some of the major performances held in the place.


Festivals

Seokchon Lake has many various festivals, including the Cherry Blossom Festival, Deciduous Street Festival, and the Seokchon Lake Concert. These festivals show many attractive parts of the Seokchon Lake.


Cherry Blossom Festival

The Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival is one of the most representative spring festivals in Seoul. The festival has many events such as shows performed by popular singers and amateur performance team. During the festival season, the Lotte World Tower at Seokchon Lake and the Magic Island combine with cherry blossoms, making a beautiful landscape. The 2021 Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival was held online due to Corona 19.


Deciduous Street Festival

In fall, Seokchon Lake Deciduous Street Festival begin, and Seokchon Lake is filled with thousands of
deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
leaves such as
platanus ''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...
, King cherry trees,
ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants, assigned to the gymnosperms. The scientific name is also used as the English common name. The order to which the genus belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, , and ''Ginkgo'' is n ...
trees and
maple tree ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...
s. On the lake, you can see colorful Lanterns, and there is a night scenery view photo zone.


Seokchon Lake Music Concert

The Seokchon Lake Music Concert is held at East Side Central Waterfront Stage every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from mid-April to November. There are performances of various genres such as singing, dancing, pop, musical instrument.


Seokchon Lake Café Street

The cafe street is located next to the East Lake, about 1.1 km. There are about 12 cafes in the café street. There is one at approximately every 100 meters. There are various cafes in the vicinity of Seokchon Lake, which have unique names and different atmospheres. There are coffee shops, bakeries, and places you can eat fusion dishes. Also, since outdoor business is allowed in this area, one can eat outside looking at the scenery of the Seokchon Lake.


Controversy

From 2010 to 2013, the average water level of Seokchon lake was lowered from 4.63 meters to 4.17 meters. About 4 million tons of water was leaked from Seokchon Lake. Also, several large underground voids and
sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...
s were observed near the lake and caused controversy about safety problems. According to an investigation by the City of Seoul, it was caused by massive underground operation from the construction of
Lotte World Tower Lotte World Tower (), is a 123-story, supertall skyscraper, located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea. It is the sixth-tallest building in the world, the tallest in OECD countries and in South Korea, and also the firs ...
and
Seoul Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway () is a urban rail transit, metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, Medium-capacity rail transport system, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. T ...
Line 9. In 2013, the City of Seoul started supplying water to maintain the lake's water level. As of 2015, the lake had an average water level of 4.8 meters.


References

{{Seoul parks Parks in Seoul Geography of Songpa District Bodies of water of Seoul