hankyoreh

New York, Tokyo, Sydney, and London all have one thing in common. They are well known international waterfront cities with tourist charms.

In comparison, Seoul is a baby as far as its development of the Han River, which runs through the heart of the city, is concerned.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon on Tuesday announced a long-term masterplan to transform Seoul into an attractive waterfront city with high-level tourist and transportation facilities.

"The Han River is the last place in Seoul without proper development," Oh said in a press briefing. "I will redevelop Seoul into a pleasant and attractive waterfront city centered around the Han River under the 'Han River Renaissance project.'" The most ambitious of the 33 sub-plans of the masterplan calls for restoring the waterway linking the river to the West Sea. Oh said international freight and passenger ships could reach the Chinese port cities of Shanghai, Tianjin and Qingdao from the river if the waterway reopens.

During the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) when land transportation was undeveloped, the river was one of the major routes for shipping to Seoul salt and grain collected as tax from local areas.

The river route was closed for safety reasons after the division of the Korean Peninsula in 1945.

There are two ways to link Seoul with the West Sea: One is to follow the natural flow of the river that joins the sea in areas just north of Ganghwa Island. The other is to use 20 kilometers of the "Gyeongin Canal" now under construction to link Seoul with the western port city of Incheon.

News media welcomed the plan but doubted whether it could be implemented because both ways of linking Seoul to the West Sea have problems.

Using the original Han River-West Sea route could be dangerous as ships would have to sail parallel to the inter-Korean sea border that stretches to the mouth of the Han River. Civilian ships need to get permission from the United Nations Command, which monitors the cease-fire between the two Koreas, to use the route.

The construction of the Gyeongin Canal has been suspended since 2003 because of opposition from environmentalists and civic activists.

Some point out also that some parts of the river are not deep enough for international freighters or ferries to use.

Seoul city officials, however, remains optimistic despite the criticisms.

"We expect there will be no technical or financial problems in opening the shipping route if only the inter-Korean situations permits it," said Choi Jong-hyeop, chief of the city's Han River project headquarters.

He noted that the waterway opened once after its closure when the city sent a dummy Gobukseon turtle ship, a 16th-century iron-clad Korean warship, from the Han River to the southern sea port of Tongyeong for a festival in 2005. "We were informed by the U.N. Command at that time that civilian ships can use the route if they are not armed," Choi said in a telephone interview.

Seoul also plans to build an international terminal either in Yongsan or Yeouido and excavate the river bottom to create a depth of four meters in the river's main stream.

"We believe either way would be possible with cooperation from the central government," he said. "If Seoul becomes an international port city, it would reduce transportation costs and attract more foreign tourists," he said.

SEOUL, July 4 (Yonhap News)