Joseon’s policy on flood control in its capital, Seoul, aimed to improve water flow through the capital and included the construction of a rain gauge during the reign of King Sejong, establishment of a watermark to read the water level of the Cheonggyecheon(Stream), prohibition of lumbering in the mountain and reclamation, stream dredging, and the building of levees. Among these, stream dredging was the one the Joseon Dynasty paid more attention to. A large-scale dredging of the Cheonggyecheon that penetrates Seoul was carried out during the reigns of King Taejong, Yeongjo, Sunjo, and Gojong.
The dredging operation during the reign of King Taejong marked as the largest stream channel deepening project at that time as it employed over 50,000 soldiers for a month. The stream, which had been left intact, was dredged to accommodate the sewage facility and expanded to build new embankments and a durable stone bridge, which established the capital’s infrastructure that could improve the lives of its residents. It was a landmark project that should be regarded highly as it was a civil engineering work for the improvement of the infrastructure of Seoul as the capital and served as a model for the sewage projects of local regions. The dredging work during the reign of King Sejong included all the tributaries of the Cheonggyecheon, completing the project carried out during the reign of King Taejong, the father of King Sejong.
The dredging and embankment project during the reign of King Yeongjo was the largest single construction project and an outcome of the cooperation between the public and private sectors for the noble cause of people’s welfare. The project was completed in 57 days from Feb. 18 to Apr. 15, with a large workforce including 150,000 people recruited from five provinces across the nation and 50,000 paid laborers and an investment of 35,000 nyang and 2,300 bags of rice. It laid the foundation for the future dredging operations and triggered the installment of the Office of Dredging for institutional support them.
Stream excavation projects continued throughout the Joseon Dynasty, including an annual small-scalework during the reign of King Jeongjo, a large-scale work during the reign of King Sunjo, and a roughly two-month operation during the reign of King Gojong. However, all these dredging operations were based on those during the reign of King Yeongjo. In this respect, it is safe to say that King Taejong and King Sejong laid the groundwork for Joseon’s future dredging policy and King Yeongjo institutionalized it.
Public works was an important national policy as it consolidated the national foundation in the Joseon period. Especially, the dredging policy served as a criterion for the assessment of the king’s virtue and was linked directly with agricultural productivity, a basis for the national economy. The public works undertaken in Seoul, the political, economic, and cultural center of the nation, were considered more important as they required a large workforce and served as model for local construction works. Accordingly, the dredging projects in the capital drew much attention from the government and continued throughout the Joseon Dynasty.
As part of the ongoing urban planning project, the dredging operations in the capital completed during the reigns of King Taejong and King Sejong and lasted for some 200 years. They were further developed to serve as the model of the national flood control project during the reign of King Yeongjo.
In conclusion, the public works including dredging operations in the capital in the Joseon period were geared toward improving people’s lives and consolidating Seoul as the capital of the nation for national peace.