With the increase of the number of riverfront development projects an objective and systematized survey and assessment tool is required to understand and identify the characteristics and potentials of river environment for human uses. The purpose of this study was to develop an assessment system for the investigation and evaluation of the water-friendly environment and to examine its effectiveness by applying the system to the selected study sites. Literature reviews, expert consultation, and preliminary survey were conducted to select highly relevant indexes to evaluate water-friendliness in rivers and, as a result, an assessment system of ten items in four areas was established. The assessment system were applied to 139 reaches of six rivers including Bykgye Cheon, Seom River, Gap Cheon, Yudeng Cheon, Naesung Cheon, and Kumho River. The scores and grade of water-friendliness were calculated per rivers and reaches, and their differences were prominent according to urban river, rural river, mountainous area and city area. Bykgye Cheon and Naesung Cheon got high scores in visual quality and Kumho River and Gap Cheon in community needs and potential uses. The scores of each section in the same river can be used as a basic data for the selection of appropriate sites for the development of hydrophilic space. In addition, it is expected that identifying the characteristics of each river help establish an appropriate management plan for the river.