World Cup Park is an
ecological
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
park built in Sangamdong-gil, in
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
. This place was built on May 1, 2002, to commemorate the
2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Games and the new millennium. World Cup Park is made up of five parks: Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park, Haneul (Sky) Park, Noeul (Sunset) Park, Nanjicheon Park, and
Hangang
The Han River or Hangang () is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok (Yalu), Tuman (Tumen), and Nakdong rivers. The river begins as two smaller rivers in the eastern mountains of the ...
Riverside Park.
History
Nanjido
In late 1970s, a small islet in the northwest part of
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, called
Nanjido
Nanjido (Nan(lily) Ji(mushroom) Do(island)) (Korean: 난지도 蘭芝島) was an island on a branch of the Han River of Seoul, Korea.
In the end of the 1970s, a dyke was constructed around the edge of Nanjido, and it became Seoul's official du ...
, was made into a landfill due to the waste disposal problem that arose, due to the rapid development of Seoul into a metropolitan city.
The park was once a 15-year-old landfill that consisted with 92 million tons of garbage, and it took 6 years to stabilize, and an extra year to build the park. The
2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Games led to the rebirth of Nanjido as an eco-friendly area.
Nanjido was developed by Nanji which is a branch of
Hangang
The Han River or Hangang () is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok (Yalu), Tuman (Tumen), and Nakdong rivers. The river begins as two smaller rivers in the eastern mountains of the ...
parting from the main river around Mangwonjeong and then rejoins the river near Haengjusansung(Hill Fortress). This place was used a dock for boating till the late