Cheonan

IndepHall Chopsticks - Courtyard of the Independence, with the Monument to the Nation in the back

Cheonan (천안, 天安) is a city in South Chungcheong, South Korea.

{{Climate | units Metric | janhigh =4.9 | febhigh 7.4 | marhigh 13.5 | aprhigh 20.6 | mayhigh 25.8 | junhigh 28.4 | julhigh 30.6 | aughigh 28.4 | sephigh 27.4 | octhigh 21.3 | novhigh 13.6 | dechigh 2.7 | janlow -6.2 | feblow -2.8 | marlow 1.3 | aprlow 7.0 | maylow 12.5 | junlow 18.1 | jullow 21.2 | auglow 20.8 | seplow 15.6 | octlow 7.8 | novlow 2.4 | declow -6.8 | janprecip 4.9 | febprecip 15.1 | marprecip 40.9 | aprprecip 62.1 | mayprecip 34.6 | junprecip 73.9 | julprecip 239.0 | augprecip 218.7 | sepprecip 144.0 | octprecip 119.5 | novprecip 28.9 | decprecip 36.9 | description 2014 Korea Meteorological Administration

How to travel to Cheonan

Travel by Train

The KTX from Seoul takes just 35-40 (depending on which train) minutes to zip to Cheonan-Asan Station, but you'll need to connect to the painfully slow #20 or #13 bus (₩1,200 without a card) to get to central the Shingsegae/Bus Terminal area of Cheonan. Alternatively, you can walk about 200m to Asan Station, where for ₩1,000 you can get a 5 minutes subway (not underground) train ride into Cheonan Station. From here you can connect to both north lines going towards Suwon/Seoul or to the south lines heading to either Busan or Gwangju/Mokpo.

Alternatively, you can take a 급행 (express) subway directly to Seoul or Yongsan stations in about an hour and a half. These trains run roughly once per hour. You can find the up-to-date timetables in the ticketing area of Cheonan station where you enter for the subway only lines.

Travel on a Bus

The express and intercity bus terminals are located near each other in the northern part of town. Note that the intercity terminal is hidden in the basement of the Shinsegae department store.

How to get around In Cheonan

A complex and confusing system of buses covers the area, but there is no information whatsoever in English at the stops or in the buses themselves. However, nearly all services start from or terminate at the intercity bus terminal.

The subway line has been extended from Cheonan Station to KTX Cheonan-Asan station and continuing to Asan.

What to See

IndepHall MegaGate - Grand Hall of the Nation

Independence Hall of Korea - 독립기념관 | Jincheon 12 kilometers east of Cheonan Opening Hours: Tue-Sun 09:00-17:00 free The largest museum in Korea, sprawling over acres of land in the hills, with seven giant exhibition halls devoted to the nation's struggle to throw off the Japanese yoke between 1870 and 1945. Note that thit is a privately funded operation and thus even more slanted towards a nationalist version of history than usual. Most 3xx/4xx-series buses pass by, board them either at Cheonan Station or in front of the intercity bus terminal (₩950, 25 minutes).

Gagwonsa Buddhist Temple At Taejosan (Mt. Taejo) 태조산 - The Buddhist temple has a very large sitting Buddha. A nice place to go hiking.

Top Travel Tips

Upstairs from the bus station is a movie theater which plays Korean and Western films.

A swimmingpool competition is held every Thursday night at 10pm across from Shinsegae Department Store at I.D. Billiards. The size of the turn-out varies, but the people are generally very friendly making it a good place to meet fellow foreigners.

Shopping

As of late 2010 and the old Galleria shopping complex which doubled as the Cheonan Bus Terminal was remodeled and renamed to Shinsegae. The new Shingsegae is where most Cheonanites go for their local shopping of luxury items in Cheonan.

There is also a new Galleria now opened which is an architectural marvel. It's won many design awards and is set over 9 floors. Definitely worth a taxi ride of ten minutes just to see the building. (If you go planning to buy take a LOT of money).

An Emart is located in the basement of the Shinsegae shopping complex.

Across the street from Shinsegae Department Store is a whole host of other venues to buy you much needed items. Once you exit the Bus Terminal, you'll see the crowds flowing across the street at every green pedestrian light. Over there you'll also find many more food options awaiting your tongue and stomach.

Halal Restaurants

Please be informed that on some destination such as Cheonan we had no local Muslim/a that has researched some of the area. If you are a Muslim/a and have been to Cheonan or would like to maintain the eHalal Guide to Cheonan, please contact us at guides@ehalal.io or email us your updates.

Mount Fishtail Near Cheonan Station (천안역). Walk out the East exit of Cheonan Station and cross the street and it's on the building on the right on the second floor. Curries around ₩8,000-₩10,000. A South Asian Curries restaurant, which is decidedly uncommon in Cheonon. It's owned by a lovely Nepalese couple.

Applebee Near Ssangyong station (쌍용역). - The way it works is you order a main Meat and you can choose from a all-you-can-eat buffet of Pasta. salads, other meats, desserts, drinks for prices hovering over ₩20,000 a meal. It's a good place to go if you really want to get stuffed or take a huge crowd of people. Not to be confused with the American junkfood chain restaurant 'Applebee's'.

Fry Pan If you can find Angel n Us coffee shop, it's in front of you and on the left. Just look around. - A tasty fried Chicken restaurant chain. Their Cheonan location is across the street from the Shinsegae Department Store and boarding the small park.

Cafe Riposo - Italian Pizzas, Pasta. risotto and calzones. Fruit Juices and is also on the menu. Better taste and prices than anything one can experience in Seoul, however the service is terrible and they are unable to accommodate larger parties.

Banana Cafe - Banana Cafe in Shinbudong, across the road from Shinsegae Department Store is a great place to fellow expats and Koreans. Pool competitions, open mic night, quiz night and a full stage for performers and bands are available. You can call 010-3424-6309 and speak to Mr Oh.

NV - Around the junction from Banana is NV. The owners are foreign English teachers and very friendly.

Dolce Cafe Dolce Cafe is another really good bar near Cheonan Station. Walk out the east exit and walk towards Mount Fishtail Indian Restaurant. A few stores past Mount Fishtail is Dolce bar on the basement level. They have some kind of theme on Fridays or Saturday nights, nice selection of bottled soft drinks and flat draft Korean soft drinks. Complementary chips and salsa and peanuts are common. The owner is Korean and speaks very good English. He's a good guy to talk if you happen to stroll in by yourself.

Muslim Friendly Hotels/Resorts

There are plenty of motels in the alleys across the street from the bus terminals and near the train station.

Joatel 조아텔 Sinbu-dong 455-8 cross street from bus terminal, straight one block, turn right ☎ +82 41-622-7942 ₩40,000-60,000, plus ₩10,000 on weekends This clean motel has spacious, well-equipped rooms, including PCs, fancy showers and big round bathtubs. No room keys, but the staff will let you in and out on request. Some English spoken.

Metro 57-9, Daeheung-dong, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do ☎ +82 41-622-8211

News & References

Travel Next

Asan - Hot-spring resort with which Cheonan shares its KTX station.
Cheongju - Provincial capital of North Chungcheong, and historic town in its own right. Birthplace of jikji and the world's oldest moving metal type print book.
Chungju - Gateway to Danyang and Suanbo, two hours by direct bus from the intercity terminal
Gongju - City to the south, and former capital of Baekje, known for its Beakje tombs. Also the gateway to hiking a nearby national park.
Suwon - Satellite city of Seoul, and sporting a World Heritage fortress.