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

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

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

period. Before 1978 when the place was used as a

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...

s and

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

were cultivated on this land.

Five Parks

Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park

Located on the opposite side of

Seoul World Cup Stadium The Seoul World Cup Stadium (), also known as Sangam Stadium, is a stadium used mostly for association football matches. The venue is located in 240, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opene ...

, it is the main park of World Cup Park created to commemorate the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Games. Its name was given to symbolize world peace and unity. There is

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

Plaza, Nanji Pond, Peace Park, Hope Forest, and the World Cup Park Museum.

Haneul Park

Like its name Haneul, which means sky in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

, the park is situated at World Cup Park's highest point. The Haneul stairs consist of 291 stairs and have become a tourist attraction. Situated at the highest point in World Cup Park, there are observation points on the sloping sides of the park.

Noeul Park

Noeul Park is one of the favored parks in

. The park contains wild animals such as deer, wildcats and

raccoons The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of . ...

. There is a

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

park which is a themed space with nature and cultural art works displayed on green lawns.

Nanjicheon Park

Nanjicheon Park was built along the Nanji Stream, which flowed under the Haneul Park. The stream was filled with sewage but it is now purified. It has an outdoor stage and various sports facilities.

Hangang Riverside Park (Nanji Area)

Hangang Riverside Park was built on the banks of

Han River (Korea) The Han River or Hangang () is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Yalu River, Amnok (Yalu), Tumen River, Tuman (Tumen), and Nakdong rivers. The river begins as two smaller rivers in the ...

. It has

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

field,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

court, grass field,

River cruise A river cruise is a voyage along inland waterways, often stopping at multiple ports along the way. Since cities and towns often grew up around rivers, river cruise ships frequently dock in the center of cities and towns. Descriptions River da ...

ship port, and an area for nature-studies.

Gallery

File:Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park.jpg, Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park in World Cup Park File:Haneul-Park.jpg, Reeds of the Haneul Park File:Haneul-Park--reeds.jpg, reeds File:Noeul Park.jpg, Noeul Park in World Cup Park File:Nanjicheon-Park.jpg, Nanjicheon Park

External links

* http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264454 - Tour guide by

Korea Tourism Organization The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is an organization of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It is commissioned to promote the country's tourism industry. The KTO was established in 1962 as a gover ...

, Visitkorea

References

{{Seoul parks Mapo District Parks in Seoul