Korean historical documents have abundant records of river works. Extensive related records during the Joseon Dynasty (CE 1392–1910) were investigated and analyzed. The evolution of man-made urban stream, Cheonggyecheon the center of old downtown Seoul, Korea was reviewed. In 1410, after a big flood, 52,800 soldiers were mobilized from whole country to improve waterway in the capital. King Sejong continued to enhance the river maintenance. The dredging and expansion for main stream including tributaries was conducted to reduce flood risk. It was a landmark river engineering project for the improvement of the capital’s infrastructure. King Yeongjo planned and initiated the massive river work project. 200,000 people were recruited from five local provinces to widen the stream and to build up the stone embankments, and the waterways were straightened up to present conditions. After the project, the Juncheonsail, a construction report was published and adopted as a practical guideline for river management. As a result, floods in downtown of the capital had been somewhat controlled though, since then every King of the Joseon Dynasty had deep consideration on river maintenance including dredging and embankment against flood and sedimentation. This paper aims to introduce a brief history of the systematic urban river management in ancient Korea.

韩国的历史文献记载着大量的河道工程。研究和分析了朝鲜王朝（CE 1392-1910）期间的大量相关记录。回顾了韩国首尔市中心繁华的清溪川人造城市河流的演变。1410年，一场大洪水过后，全国动员了52,800名士兵改善首都的水路。世宗大王继续加强对河流的维护。为减少洪水风险，对包括支流在内的主流进行了疏and和扩建。这是一项具有里程碑意义的河道工程，旨在改善首都的基础设施。英祖国王计划并启动了大规模的河道工程。从五个地方省招募了20万人，以拓宽溪流并修建石堤，航道理顺了现在的状况。项目结束后，Juncheonsail出版了一份施工报告，并被采纳为河流管理的实用指南。结果，尽管如此，首都市区的洪水还是得到了一定程度的控制，从那时起，朝鲜王朝的每位国王都对河流的维护工作进行了深思熟虑，包括疏and大堤和防洪防沙。本文旨在介绍古代朝鲜的系统城市河流管理的简要历史。