hankyoreh

Members of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement hold a rally calling for cancellation of the Grand Canal Project proposed by Lee Myung-bak, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Grand National Party. The protesters are standing below the Jamsil Bridge, on top of a gate damming the the Han River, on October 15. The banner in the photo says: “Stop Kyung-Bu Canal.” Kyung-Bu is a combination of Kyung, the Chinese character meaning capital of a country , or Seoul, and Busan, and represents the two cities which Lee aims to connect via the canal project.

The protesters insist that the proposed canal would contaminate the waters of the rivers connected by the canal as well as cause irreversible damage and significant environmental change to the regions through which the proposed canal would pass.

Photo by Lee Jong-keun/The Hankyoreh.