This view of the same part of the city is from atop the mountains to the north.

 

The city's rivers flow through these man-made channels which are built to deal with water from the heavy summer rains and occasional typhoons.

 

I walk down this street in Sangnam Dong every day.

The city streets are wide and lay in a grid fashion.

Although this is the down-town area, with shops, bars, restaurants and more, the sidewalks are very inadequate and are broken or don't exist on many roads.

When new buildings are constructed they often utilize every spare inch up to the road for parking or for raised flower beds which force pedestrians to walk around them on the road.

Even the best sidewalks aren't at all safe as traffic laws don't seem to apply to motorcycles, which ignore traffic lights and weave between pedestrians and cars alike, both on and off the road.

The city streets are as bright at night as they are by day as the commercial buildings are covered from top to bottom in signs that light up the sky so even the clouds become visible.

In this photo (of the same street) it's completely dark, but for the reflection of my camera's flash, as typhoon Maemi had just tore through southeastern Korea, disrupting power supplies and causing much damage.

Typhoons are common in Korea but Typhoon Maemi was the strongest to hit since records began and the streets of Changwon were littered with broken glass and debris.

See my comments on BBC News coverage of Typhoon Maemi

Right: A window broken in the storm.

 

Left: The building in the center foreground almost completely collapsed and the one on the left was so badly damaged it was later torn down.

Even the city's fine Hotel International (center background) had much of it's roof torn off.

The picture also shows another high building being constructed.

 

 

This view is looking over Sangnam Dong from the center of the city.

Daedong Apartments are the blocks in the distance.