New books trace the history of Han River bridges, from the Hangang Railway Bridge and Gwangjin Bridge to Hannam Bridge and Seongsan Bridge, charting Seoul's growth and the lives of its citizens. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has released volumes 10 and 11 of its Han River Story Series as free downloads.

A promotional poster for the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Han River Story Series. [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]
A promotional poster for the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Han River Story Series. [Provided by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

A new pair of books traces Seoul's transformation through the bridges that span the Han River — from the pontoon crossings of the Joseon era to the Hangang Railway Bridge, the first permanent span, and on through Hangang Bridge (First Hangang Bridge), Gwangjin Bridge, Yanghwa Bridge (Second Hangang Bridge), Hannam Bridge (Third Hangang Bridge) and Mapo Bridge.

The volumes are filled with colorful behind-the-scenes stories: a city official once rushed all the way to Busan to source the orange paint for Seongsan Bridge, and Wonhyo Bridge once had a toll booth collecting fares from drivers.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Han River Headquarters announced Monday that it had published volumes 10 and 11 of the Han River Story Series, a popular-history series that examines the river's past through archival records.

The two books cover 29 bridges in total. The authors selected 23 bridges within the Seoul city limits and six near its boundaries, drawing from the 33 spans along the main Han River channel as of April 2025.

The theme is "Bridges of the Han River," offering a panoramic view of Seoul's development through its crossings. The books vividly chart the city's evolution — from the pre-modern days when there were no bridges and people crossed by ferry, through the Gangnam and Jamsil development boom, to the river's present-day network of spans.

Volume 10 opens with the era before bridges, when Seoulites crossed the Han River by rowboat or on pontoon bridges — multiple vessels lashed together end to end. It also recounts the story of the Hangang Railway Bridge, whose construction rights were granted to American businessman James Morse before Japan took over and completed the project, and of Gwangjin Bridge, built at Gwangnaru, the historic eastern gateway to Hanyang.

The volume also explains how Seongsan Bridge came to have its distinctive crescent-shaped structures. Another story describes how a portable generator at the Hannam Bridge construction site brought electric light to the then-powerless neighborhoods of southern Seoul.

Volume 11 covers how Jamsil was transformed from an island into mainland through land reclamation in the 1970s, alongside the history of bridge construction in the area. It also examines the 1994 collapse of Seongsu Bridge and its reopening in 1997, and introduces Cheongdam Bridge and Dongjak Bridge, which carry both subway lines and road traffic on the same structure. The history of bridges that linked new towns, airports and ring roads — and thus drove the expansion of the greater Seoul area — rounds out the volume. Both books, along with the rest of the Han River Story Series, are available as free downloads on the Han River Park website.

"I hope these books give readers a chance to reflect on Seoul's development and the changes in citizens' lives that have unfolded alongside the building of its bridges," said Park Jin-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Future Han River Headquarters.


ken@heraldcorp.com