Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Seoul suspected of releasing fish into Cheonggye Stream
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter
Seoul City has boasted of the diverse species of fish that swim into the artificial Cheonggye Stream from lower natural streams such as the Jungnang Stream thanks to its eco-friendly restoration project. But an environmental organization Monday raised questions about the city's claim, saying that the fish have been actually been placed there by city officials.
For instance, a dark chub found at Cheonggye Stream originally lives in Seomjin River, which passes through Jeolla Province, in the southwest of the nation.
The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) said that Seoul City brought 50 dark chub from a fresh-water fish researcher in 2006 and released them into the Cheonggye Stream on purpose.
"We suspect that the city deliberately moved some fish to show evidence of the improvement of the stream's water quality," a KFEM official said.
KFEM quoted experts who say there is no natural way for dark chub to inhabit the Cheonggye Stream. They also raised suspicions on the existence of other species such as Korean striped and spined bitterlings.
"These bitterlings need shellfish to spawn, but Cheonggye Stream is not a proper environment for clams," the official said. "We suspect the city of releasing them as well."
However, the Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management Corporation, a city-affiliate, denied the allegations.
"The dark chub we brought in 2006 was exhibited at an aquarium for education," a city official explained. "We admit that there are some alien fish that citizens have released into the stream, which is out of our hands."
The city has said the increase in the number of fish in Cheonggye Stream is a sign of the improvement of its water quality.
"More fish come to Cheonggye Stream from downstream areas such as Jungnang Stream or the Han River due to the cleaner water. We pay attention to the dark chub in the same way," the official said.
In a statement released in February, the city said that the number of species of fish rose to 27 in 2009 from 4 in 2003.