Monday, July 6, 2009

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.

6 comments:

Helen Bushnell said...

This is my most read post. I would like to have some comments. Did you find what you were looking for? How can I make my site better?

Anonymous said...

i think this post was the most read due to accidental google result, i searched for cgv theater pyeongtaek, because i wanted to find out what was playing there today, as i planned on taking my fiancee to a movie, but i got the page, and decided to read it.

it was well written, and contained good information, but i only happened across this page by accident.

Anonymous said...

This post was very helpful especially being stationed here in Osan. I'm trying to go to Busan and this post helped me identify that the Asan station is the Cheonan-Asan KTX. Thanks! Now I just need to figure out how to take the ferry from Busan to Japan! Thanks again!

Helen Bushnell said...

I have several posts about Busan, including one about the ferry terminal. You can access get the schedules for the fast boat to Fukuoka at http://www.jrbeetle.co.jp/english/index.html.

There are also regular boats to Fukuoka, Ichinoseki, Hiroshima, and Osaka.

Unknown said...

Can you answer a specific question? I will be staying at the Seoul Palace hotel in Gangnam on Thursday, and I would like to take the train down to Pyongtaek to see how much the area outside of Osan AB has changed since I was stationed there back in 1988. My questions are: what station do I catch the train to Pyongtaek, and what time is the last train from Pyongtaek back to Seoul. Thank you.

Helen Bushnell said...

Trains to Pyeongtaek leave from both Seoul and Yongsan stations. Most of these trains also stop in Yeongdeungpo Station. If you know a quick way to get from where you are to one of those stations, do that.

If not, you can take line 3 north to Oksu, then take the Jungang line to Yongsan Station. Or you can take line 9 northwest to Yeouido then change to line 1 going south two stops to Yeongdeungpo.

The last train to Seoul Station from Pyeongtaek leaves at 11:35 pm while the last train to Yongsan leaves at 11:45 pm. I think that both those trains stop in Yeongdeungpo. There is a link to Korail's English language site in the sidebar where you can check those times.

Pyeongtaek is also on line 1 of the Seoul subway. I think that the subway runs later than the train, but I do not have a schedule. Remember that the subway stop for the base is Songtan, also on line 1.

I hope this answers your question.