Korean Job Discussion Forums

sojusucks · Joined: 31 May 2008

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2928536

Here is the wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongchun_Line

It will run east of Seoul to Chuncheon, Gangwon province. It is partly an older line and they added more stations and will connect all of it to the Seoul subway system at Mangu Station. I'm sure this will help many people in that area with access to Seoul.

jcan · Joined: 08 Oct 2006

Very cool. Chuncheon is a beautiful place. Wonder when the line will actually open though. Laughing

jvalmer · Joined: 06 Jun 2003

Amazing, at least Koreans have no qualms on massive spending on transportation that will benefit the public. Wish Canadians were more open to transportation spending, but I guess geographic size has a big factor too.

Died By Bear · Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:47 pm Post subject:

Drew345 · Joined: 24 May 2005

I think ChunCheon is the town close to Vivaldi ski park. That would be nice to take the train all the way to ski (though they ran nice free buses from Seoul last year).
The Korean investment in public transportation is amazing. I can see big changes in my neighborhood (HongDae) every 6 months: bus lanes added, ped crossing improved, access to parks improved, subway expanding.

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

Chuncheon is famous for the best ddak galbi (chicken and veg fried with spicy sauce) and Nami Island (where that Winter Sonata TV drama was filmed, hence, hundreds of Japanese ajumma go there every week who love that horrible Bae Yong Joon guy who basically popularized the meterosexual image among Korean men that we all know and love today).

Nami island is actually a really good day trip so this subway line is a great opportunity for Seoulites to go somewhere cool quickly and cheaply. Leave sometime in the morning, arrive in time for a ddak galbi lunch, then tour Nami island in the afternoon. Great day out.

jcan · Joined: 08 Oct 2006

dongjak · Joined: 30 Oct 2010

I saw a slightly retarded man digging threw the trashcans at Yeouido subway station and drinking the leftover liquid in all of the empty cans. It brought back good memories of taking American public transportation.

Koreadays · Joined: 20 May 2008

Didn't the AMericans invent the TRAIN? LOL... does USA even have a bullet train or anything as good as japan and Korea?

America were you at?

USA USA USA Rolling Eyes

dongjak · Joined: 30 Oct 2010

Konglishman · Joined: 14 Sep 2007 Location: Nanjing

Gnawbert · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Location: The Internet

As someone who has lived in Chuncheon for the last six months and really enjoyed it (after 2 years in Bundang) I am both simultaneously excited and scared.

Excited because it will now be a bit easier for me to get to Seoul and after some real wacky bus drivers I truly prefer trains.
Scared because I don't want to share this awesome little city with anyone.

Actually, it's just awesome all around and I am glad they finally finished this subway/train extension thingy. Chuncheon is definitely worth a visit although less so during the winter than the spring, summer, and fall.

methdxman · Joined: 14 Sep 2010

Yaya · Joined: 25 Feb 2003 Location: Seoul

Troglodyte · Joined: 06 Dec 2009

There are 2 things in progress for Chuncheon. One is the subway line to Seoul. The other is a high speed train to Seoul.

There is already a train from Seoul to Chuncheon. In fact, Chuncheon is at the end of the train line. The new high speed train is on a raised track (a sort of viaduct). At least that's how it look IN the city. Maybe outside the city it's at ground level. The current train is at ground level. The current train takes 2 hours to Seoul. The fast train will take 1.5 hours at first, but later when it's fully functional, it will take 1 hour. It looks like it's mainly finished IN the city, and most people say that it's supposed to go into service in December of this year. Some time in 2011 it will go into full swing and then trips will take only 1 hour from Chuncheon to the main train station in Seoul.

According to present predictions, the subway line is supposed to open sometime in 2011, but no one seems to know for sure when exactly. Apparently the government originally predicted that it would open in 2009, but the opening date is always being pushed back. But with a 1 hour train available, Seoul will be pretty close either way. I think that the benefit of the subway is that it will be cheaper (and maybe stop at more places) and once you get into Seoul, you can transfer onto the other lines. Also, T-money will work in Chuncheon. At present Chuncheon has it's own version of T-money and it's not compatible with Seoul/Gyeonggido T-money.