Cheonggye stream lighting project aims to dazzle the eye

Come next year, bright lights will beam from newly reconstructed Cheonggyecheon in Seoul, as the city prepares to install state-of-the-art lighting effects along the stream.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said yesterday it was spending 4 billion won ($3.8 million) on lighting along the 5.7 kilometer (3.5 mile) length of the waterway.
The reconstruction is an ambitious project by the Seoul Metropolitan Government that involved removing a highway overpass over the creek that ran from central to northeastern Seoul. The construction began last year and the city has completed 82 percent of the work so far.
Yang Sa-seon, a city official involved in the lighting project, said, “We expect the installation of lighting to take about three to four months so we will start just before the new Cheonggyecheon is inaugurated.”
Construction on the stream is expected to wrap up on Sept. 30, 2005, but installation of lighting along the length of the stream, on its 22 bridges and near the artificial waterfalls and trees that line the avenues adjoining the stream will begin in the spring of next year.
“From the start of the restoration project, we wanted to install lights that will give a scintillating spark to the city so that Cheonggyecheon will become a tourist attraction,” said Mr. Yang.
Colored lights, underwater lighting and light-emitting diode (LED) illumination are among the methods that will be used to light up the stream. Also, in the Taepyeongno area, where the Cheonggye creek begins, fountain lighting and optical fiber lighting will be set up. Near Dongdaemun Market, spotlights will beam an array of star-like images on the water. On walls along the banks of the stream, special lighting is designed to produce a piano keyboard-like effect.
Lights will go on at sunset, and will be turned off at midnight, 3 a.m. and sunrise, depending on the section of the stream. Seoul city officials hope that the illumination of the Cheonggyecheon will enable it to become a landmark in the capital.
The overall design of the lighting was developed by Andre Tammes, former president of the International Association of Lighting Designers and current president of Lighting Design Partnership in Australia. Mr. Tammes also provided assistance on the technical aspects of setting up the lighting, and has visited Seoul twice in connection with the project.

by Choi Jie-ho, Kim Eun-ha