Han River (Korea) edit
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Han River
Tancheon Location Map.png
Korean name
Hangul 한강
Hanja 漢江
Revised
Romanization
Han-gang
McCune-
Reischauer
Han'gang

The Han River in South Korea is the confluence of the Namhan River (South Han River), which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River (North Han River), which originates on the slopes of Mount Geumgang in North Korea. The River flows through Seoul and then merges with the Imjin River shortly before it flows into the Yellow Sea.

The total length of the Han River is 514 km.citation needed Although it is not a long river, the lower Han is remarkably broad for such a relatively short river. Within Seoul city limits, the river is more than 1 km wide. Prior to the construction of a number of major dams, the river was known for its huge coefficient of river regime (ratio between the maximum and minimum amount of flow) of 1:390. (For comparison, The Thames and the Rhine have coefficients of 1:8 and 1:18, respectively.)[1]

The Han River and its surrounding area played an important role in Korean history. The Three Kingdoms of Korea strove to take control of this land, where the river was used as a trade route to China (via the Yellow Sea). However, the river is no longer actively used for navigation, because its estuary is located at the borders of the two Koreas, barred for entrance by any civilian.

Contents

The name

The Namhan meaning South Han, Gang meaning river is sometimes, but not always, referred to as the "Han" in South Korea. The term "South Han" is understood irrespective of which side of the border one stands.

Even though "Namhan" and "Bukhan" are homophones with the acronyms Namhan (남한; South Korea) and Bukhan (북한; North Korea), used commonly in South Korea, this is a mere coincidence. The hanja for the Han River is not "韓" ("Korea") but "漢" (the Chinese Han dynasty or "China" in general).

Tributaries of the Han

Tributaries are listed in order from the mouth of the Han to the source. Subtributaries are listed accordingly.

Jungnancheon meets Han, seen from Dongho Bridge
Jungnancheon meets Han, seen from Dongho Bridge
Cheonggyecheon
Tancheon
View of Yangjaecheon
View of Yangjaecheon

Bridges over the lower Han

A total of 27 bridges of Han River in Seoul National Capital Area(Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon), South Korea, are,

From the west to the east

Yanghwa Bridge
Dangsan Railway Bridge
Hangang Railway Bridge and Hangang Bridge
Hangang Railway Bridge and Hangang Bridge

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Han River

Trivia

The Han River is the setting for The Host, in which the Wonhyo Bridge plays an important part.

See also

External links

  1. ^ Korea Water Resources Association: http://www.kwra.or.kr/news/en_02.html

Coordinates: 37°45′N 126°11′E / 37.75, 126.183