Unprecedented Great Flood: The 1925 Eulchuk Year

WHY VISIT

In the summer of 1925, the Han River flood claimed numerous lives and destroyed houses and buildings. The city of Gyeongseong was left isolated with electricity and transportation cut off, and farmlands surrounding the city that sustained its residents were washed away or turned into sand fields. The flood even changed the course of the Han River and erased entire villages. Known as the “Great Flood of the Eulchuk Year,” this disaster had both direct and indirect significant impacts on Seoul. Later, when flood control facilities were installed on the Han River, the flood served as the benchmark, and flood control became a major issue in urban planning. A century later, as continuous flood control efforts have led to floods fading from public memory, the climate crisis has struck. Faced with extreme downpours that have become part of daily life, we are once again reminded of the severity of great floods. On the centennial of the Eulchuk Year Great Flood, this exhibition revisits this historic disaster, serving as an opportunity to collectively consider measures for future climate change preparedness.