By Well that is what this guy is claiming:
A popular stream running through downtown Seoul, which is visited by millions of people annually, has been severely polluted by bacteria, a report by the city government showed Tuesday.
According to the report, submitted to the Seoul council member Jang Hwan-jin of the Democratic Party, parts of the Cheonggyecheon stream contain as many as 53 times the legal limit of colon bacillus. The standard for the number of bacteria for a body of water suitable for swimming is 1,000 per 100 milliliters.
The study checked for water quality from January to September this year at three different locations along the stream, which stretches for 8.4 kilometers under more than a dozen bridges through Seoul.
The water under the Mojeon Bridge upstream had 7,201 bacteria per 100 milliliters, more than seven times the limit. But farther downstream toward the eastern end, water samples contained 53,303 bacteria. [Korea Herald]
The last time I visited the Cheonggyecheon earlier this summer it didn’t look polluted to me though I did notice what appeared to be more litter around the stream than I had seen in prior years. Well at least they haven’t blamed the pollution on USFK yet. 
3:16 am on November 9th, 2011 1
I wondered why I was shitting like a gatling gun.
5:31 am on November 9th, 2011 2
“The last time I visited the Cheonggyecheon earlier this summer it didn’t look polluted to me…”
Well, it’s not exactly polluted. It’s contaminated…and you can’t see bacteria with your naked eye.
6:47 am on November 9th, 2011 3
“I wondered why I was shitting like a gatling gun.”
Stop twisting the crank.
7:34 am on November 9th, 2011 4
I’ve always assumed the water in Cheonggyecheon didn’t emanate from a naturally occurring source of water – and that it was just pumped in from a pipe.
8:30 am on November 9th, 2011 5
The Host Part Deux! Or is that already out?
9:46 am on November 9th, 2011 6
Polluted? Nonsense! Korea is the purest country in the world, that is, until the evil Yankee imperialists tainted it with their immoral presence.
[/sarcasm]
10:10 am on November 9th, 2011 7
Blame the Yongsan mortician!!
11:06 pm on November 9th, 2011 8
With the density of habitation along the Cheongye stream, I’d be astounded if the water wasn’t grossly contaminated with coliforms. There has got to be sewage seeping into it from many sources along its course.
7:08 pm on November 10th, 2011 9
#8,
Considering the hundreds of millions of dollars it cost, there should be an inquiry about this.
2:47 pm on November 11th, 2011 10
The bacteria hasn’t harmed the goldfish that have been released into the stream.