Cheonan and Chunan

The title is the same word for 천안, a city about an hour south of Seoul. The first is the newer romanized spelling, and the second the olde, postwar way.

I've been to Cheonan a few times now. Ordinarily I'd put it into my list of "scary" Korean cities. Scary isn't necessarily a fair description, and I doubt it's all that scary, actually. But there are places in Korea where there aren't many foreigners, where the buildings are a little old and run down, and where I see what seems to be a disproportionate number of drunk men during the daytime.

Put the above three together and you have the makings for a "scary situation," which is essentially a drunk, old man chasing me down a rundown street. In reality, this has only happened to me a couple times, and only when I've had a Korean woman on my arm, but from time to time I still worry.

At any rate this trip to Cheonan was perfectly pleasant and it ended, as it has before, with me killing time in the Cheonan/Asan KTX station for more than 90 minutes. The station itself is somewhat isolated, on the edge of what was Cheonon. Was, because like a number of Korean cities it's being transformed into something else entirely, using the KTX station as the center. This Korean blog actually has a photo essay of the transformation process, with the "before" photos, in which the area is nothing but countryside, saved for the end.

I walked around the station several times. The Asan station is part of the Seoul Subway network. The KTX station was built onto that, so now the city/cities are connected to Seoul in two ways -- one which takes about 30 minutes and costs 19,000 won, and the other which takes about 90 minutes (I'm guessing) and probably costs 3-4,000 won. About a year ago the Cheonan/Asan station looked like spaceship landed in the countryside. Now, a number of apartment building projects are going up nearby. But the grand plans, which are showcased in drawings around the station, are a sight to behold.
In the states, we might label something an "up and coming" neighborhood if it's being rejuvenated. Ft. Greene in Brooklyn is one area that while I was living there, was being transformed from a dump, to a hipster hangout, and finally to an expensive neighborhood that attracted young moneyed couples looking to start families.

In Korea this works a little differently and it all has to do with modernization. Usually, in the middle of nowhere, a subway line with be built, and then 15-20 apartment buildings, each 20 stories tall, with pop up. This is happening in Cheonan, but on a larger scale. There are 10 apartment complexes going up, as well as a number of malls (the one at right here is the Y-mall, currently being built near the train station) and skyscrapers being planned. It's going to look something like the photo up top. Dig the Dubai hotel-style thing in the background. Also in the photo you can see the KTX line running though the center.

I know these architectural renderings look a little like someone's wet dream, but it's all still impressive. I believe the square looking building in the foreground is going to be some kind of city government center. If I was looking to move somewhere in Korea and start a family I'd probably give serious consideration to this area, and not only because of the spastic "golf resort," which looks less golf-y and more waterslide-like. I'm a fan of waterslides. I'd love to bring a special someone here one of these days...

Spastic is the right word, no?

Cheonan is known as a "historical city" in Korea, which means it has nothing else going for it but historical sites and temples, most of which you could find anywhere else in Korea. Famous food? Sundae soup, which is a kind of blood sausage made from cow or pig intestines. I'll pass, thanks.

But once all this other stuff is built Cheonan is going to be a nice livable city, and I'd even say it'll be one of South Korea's fastest growing cities. "World's Best City"?, as the city's English page so humbly proclaims? Hmm...maybe I'll wait a bit before designating it that. I'll stick with "livable," and no longer "scary."