bro, studiematerial, tradition, Fotografi, Photograph

Supyogyo Bridge. One of the two most widely known bridges in Seoul along with Gwangtonggyo, Supogyo (literally meaning “Water Gauge Bridge”) was a structure of about 27.5 meters long and 8.3 meters wide when it was first built. It was built in 1420, the 2nd year of King Sejong’s rule, and was called Majeongyo (“Horse Market Bridge”) because there was a horse market in a nearby area. The name was changed into Supyogyo in 1441 when a water gauge was installed near the bridge that indicated the level of water running through Cheonggyecheon. The name of the area containing the bridge was changed, too, into Supyo-dong.

The water gauge installed near the bridge was a devise for scientific measurement of water levels, and is now regarded as one of the two greatest scientific instruments invented during the reign of King Sejong. The water gauge was installed along the riverside of the Hangang, a representative river of Seoul, by inserting a graduated wooden pole into the hole of a stone placed under water on the riverbed. A stone pole replaced the wooden pole in the 15th century when the dynasty was under the rule of King Seongjong because wooden poles were easily damaged. The stone pole had degrees of cheok from 1 to 10 (“cheok” being a unit of length corresponding to about 20 centimeters) with a circle on the third, sixth and ninth cheok to mark galsu (“low water”), pyeongsu (“average water”) and daesu (“high water”) respectively. Water levels of the 9th cheok or higher meant taking emergency measures to prepare for a flood.