[Yesterday and Today in picture] Han River Bridge

▲Refugees cross the temporary bridge under the footbridge over the Han River (now the Hangang Bridge), which was destroyed during the Korean War. 1951 [Provided by the National Archives]

▲Construction site of the second Hangang Bridge (currently Yanghwa Bridge). Construction began on June 20, 1962 and was completed on Jan. 25, 1965. 1964 [Provided by Seoul City]

▲The first footbridge,1st Hangang Bridge (now Hangangdaegyo) and Nodeulseom Island. Kim Han-yong, the first generation of domestic advertising photographers, took photos while working as a military photojournalist. In 1968, the white sandy beach under the Hangang Small Bridge was removed and Nodeulseom became a complete load island. The new bridge was completed in 1981 and became today's twin bridge. 1966 [Provided by Seoul Museum of History]

▲Submarine bridge near completion. The Banpo Bridge built above was completed in June 1982. 1976 [Provided by Seoul City]

▲Wonhyo Bridge pier construction scene. Construction began in July 1978 and was completed in Oct. 1981. 1979 [Courtesy of Han Chi-gyu]

▲Banpo Bridge, a double-decker bridge over Jamsu Bridge, was completed. 1982 [Provided by Seoul City]

▲Banpo Bridge 'falling fountain' completed. 2008 [Yonhap News]

▲Seongsu Bridge collapsed due to poor construction. 1994 [Yonhap News]

▲Seongsu Bridge reopened after 2 years and 8 months after collapse. 1997 [Yonhap News ]

▲Olympic Bridge construction. Construction began in Nov.1985 and was completed in June 1990. In 2001, an army helicopter that was working to install a sculpture on the top of the main tower crashed, leaving three people dead. 1988. [Yonhap News]

▲Opening of the observatory shelter installed on Hannam Bridge. 2009 [Yonhap News]

▲The Han River and Bridge seen from Lotte World Tower. From left to right, Jamsil Bridge, Jamsil Cheol Bridge, Olympic Bridge, and Cheonho Bridge are in order. 2021 [Yonhap News]

There are 32 bridges across the Han River, the lifeline of Seoul and Gyeonggi province. There are 28 bridges and 4 iron bridges. The oldest bridge is the Hangang Railroad Bridge, built in 1900 exclusively for the trains. After that, the first footbridge on the Han River was opened in 1917 so that people and livestock could also cross the river. This bridge, which is now called the Hangang Bridge, became a vehicle-accessible bridge in 1937 after extension work and extension/remodeling. The youngest bridge is the World Cup Bridge, which opened in September 2021. Some bridges over the Han River suffered tragedies as they were damaged in war or collapsed due to poor construction. This article has collected the changes of the Han River Bridge over a century.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Jiwon Woo.)

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