Shimonoseki

Of Interest:international ferry port, Kaikyo Yume Tower

Lodging: multiple
Tourist Information Office: In the ferry port.

Shimonoseki is an industrial ferry port that also hosts passenger ferries to Korea and China. It takes less than ten minutes to walk between the train station and the ferry port. Maps in multiple languages are available in the ferry port and there is large map on the street.

The area around the port and station is gritty and industial, but there is a decent sized park in walking distance. For a view of the surrounding area, go to Kaikyo Yume Tower, the highest observatory in western Japan.

Sintanjin

Lodging: many motels

Tourist Office: No

Of Interest: eclectic area

Nearest bank: across the street from the station

There are more motels and other kinds of lodging near Sintanjin Station than I have seen anywhere else in Korea. No hotels though. The closer to the station they are, the less appealing they look.

The shops and restaurants in the area are extremely eclectic while still being basically Korean. For example, there is a snail restaurant. Now one of the kim bap chains specializes in a particular kind of snail soup so I don't think that eating snails is rare in Korea. But this is the first restaurant that I have seen that has more than one dish using the creatures. If you are looking for some specialty from another part of Korea, this is the place to go.

Sintanjin used to be its own little town before it was absorbed into Daejeon. Maybe that is why it is so eclectic. Maybe there is just a wide range of people for the local industries.

The area that I am talking about is in a series of roads that are parallel to the one that runs in front of the station. The most attractive motels are on the second road in.

Osan

Lodging: motels in every direction

Tourist Office: no, but there is a decent tourist map at the station

Of interest: downtown Osan

Nearest bank: Nonghyup is straight down the road in front of the station

I have been to Osan three times, but every time I forget my camera. So sorry no pictures. Hopefully, I will remember next time because Osan actually has some pretty interesting parts. (Although if you look at the crappy picture I took of Sintanjin, maybe that is not such a bad thing.)

Several historical sites are located in Osan. The closest to the station is a Confucian shrine, one of two major ones in Korea. Someone who is good at reading maps and has a good memory can walk there in less than 45 minutes. Other sites are further away, but Osan is small enough that a taxi ride shouldn't be too expensive.

I also climbed to the top of a hill that is close to the center of town.

Osan is a working class town with a large foreign population. (Foreign meaning non-Korean.) There is a Central Asian/Russian restaurant to the left of the station and something else to the right.

Osan station is mainly served by subways and commuter trains that follow the subway route. There are a couple of trains daily to Busan and a couple to Seoul.

Nonsan

Lodging: motels

Tourist Office: No

Of Interest: downtown Nonsan, large covered market

It is surprising how quiet Nonsan is considering that it is so near Daejeon. The main attraction is a multi street covered market that covers downtown. There are few chain stores in the town, probably because the market sells everything.

The motels don't look great, but they are right by the train station.

Jeongeup

Lodging: multiple motels

Tourist Office: Yes

Of interest: river walk, Jeongeupsa Park, Chungreolsa temple, Jeongeup Hyanggyo

The name Jeongeup comes from a Baekje era song, one of only five songs that survived to today. The country of Jeongeup is full of historical monuments. In the city itself there are two areas of interest.

Turning right when you leave the station will take you to a small river with paths along both banks. Go left to walk into the city, walk right to walk away. If you walk left along the river for about twenty-five minutes, you will come to Jeongeupsa Park which contains the Jeongeupsa Art Center.

Turn left when you leave the station and then right at the first major street will take you toward City Hall. Chungryeolsa and the Jeongeup Hyanggyo are behind the city hall. Hyanggyo were Joseon-era public elementary schools.

I didn't actually see any of the above. I walked along the river and then through the city instead. It is possible to walk from one end of the city to the other in less than an hour. There are not a lot of sidewalks, but drivers are very polite to pedestrians. I did find the town's central "pedestrian" area. Unlike most pedestrian areas, this one formally let cars drive down it. But there were actually less cars than on some other "pedestrian" areas in Korea because the road was curved like a river. It was also painted blue. There was a exhibition of traditional Korean painting along the road.

I had a hard time finding a restaurant to eat at, but once I did, I was very happy. I just went to a local kim bap place where I had excellent turnip green (yeol mu) bibimbap. One of the things that I like about Jeolla-do is that you can go to the simplest restaurant and eat better than at an expensive big city restaurant.

Pyeongtaek

Of interest: Train station mall is a good place to hang out
Lodging: several motels and a hotel

Tourist Office: No

Pyeongtaek has a new station that is more than a station. In the building are several restaurants, a department store and a CGV movie theater.

Current movie times are on Nate (in Korean). A listing of movie posters with their names and in English and Korean can be found on The Yeogiyo.

The US army is in the process of moving the Yongsan army base to the area. The new constuction is probably in anticipation of this move as well as being a response to economic growth in the area. The station is right downtown, and right next to both bus stations, so it is a convenient location for development.

The station exits are numbered because this is a subway station as well as a regular train station. The main exit is Exit 1. To get to downtown, walk straight ahead. Buses to Seoul leave from a terminal that is just to the right of the main station. A large collection of motels and one hotel are on that same road after the intercity bus terminal.

Exit 2 leads to a residential neighborhood.

The new station is a good place to go when the weather is bad. The prices are cheaper than in Seoul, and there are some restaurants that you don't usually see outside of the major cities. There is a hamburger place and several Japanese restaurants. You can decent white bread in the department store basement.

Pyeongtaek is about an hour from Seoul on mugungwha, saemaeul, and commuter trains. Going north you can choose between trains that go to Seoul or Yongsan stations. Trains go to all southern lines, that is to Busan, Gwangju, Yeosu, Mokpo, and all stations in between. The Janghang Line to Chungnam (Onyang, Hongseong, Seocheon, etc.) stops here. The commuter train takes this route, ending three stops of the main line at Sinchang. These trains stop at the Cheonan-Asan KTX station (listed as Asan Station for non-KTX trains). If you are going past Daejeon, it may be quicker to change trains to a KTX train here. Please check the link in the sidebar for current schedules.

Gyeryeong

Lodging: Not next to the station, but lots of motels in the town itself

Tourist Office: No

Of Interest: Town of Gyeryeong

Computers in station: No

The town of Gyeryeong is a suburb of Daejeon. It is a small group of apartments surrounded by mountains. There is a HomePlus and a wide variety of restaurants. The train station is a little to the north of the town. To get to lodging from the train station, take bus 202 from in front of the station parking lot.

The KTX trains go from here to Yongsan in Seoul and south to Gwangju and Mokpo.