This morning we were very sad to see this chemical pouring out into the Anyang river in Seoul. We don’t know what it is, but if it’s something good for wildlife please correct us immediately! (We highly doubt it.)
Since the heavy rains came this outlet of the river has not had a nice smell. This is sad because we saw a turtle here two days ago and birds fish here too. Our Korean friends tell us that river turtles are not common.
In this photograph you can see the chemical heading towards Guil station. What is it?
The Anyang riverside park is a delight and everyone in Seoul should be really proud of it. The local authorities clearly put a lot of effort into maintaining its natural beauty. The planting schemes are wonderful and locals tell us that the river is much cleaner than it was 9 years ago. The river is a very popular place with local people, who clearly enjoy it as much as we do.
Every day of our holiday we have walked along the riverside on well maintained pathways and have enjoyed watching nature go through its natural rainy season cycle. Last week the frogs had their mating season. This week there are fat little tadpoles swimming about in the ditches. Sadly there is also an oily sheen of pollution in the ditch water.
There are clearly lots of fish in the water. The Anyang is popular with river birds such as cranes and herons. There is also a rich variety of insect life.
Here are some pictures of the river in happier times. We must admit we have two reasons for publishing this blog post.
One reason is to praise Seoul for its beautiful riverside park. The second reason is to make sure that the pollution of the Anyang river is documented. Whoever was putting that chemical into the river at approximately 9.30am – 10.30am on 17th July 2013 needs to stop doing it.
