Ansan

Understand

thumb|Ansan River (Ansancheon) in Hosu (in English, 'lake') Park

Ansan is a mid-sized city on the outskirts of Seoul. It is well integrated with Seoul's transport system, and generally speaking can be considered as a suburb. The city was planned by Park Jeong-hee in 1970 and is an important industrial center.

Ansan has one of Korea's largest immigrant communities. The percentage of multi-cultural families here is the highest in South Korea, although it is less known than Itaewon among English-speaking foreigners, as most immigrants here are Chinese and other Asian blue collar workers.

Get in

Cities nearby include Gunpo and Uiwang to the east, Hwaseong to the south, and Siheung to the north and west. Approximate travel times from other locations are as follows:

See

thumb|Ansan Arts Center thumb|Hwarang Recreation Area thumb|Daebu Island thumb|Tando Port thumb|Gyeonggi Museum of Modern Art Visit the Chinatown around the Ansan Station, an area with lots of Chinese, Indian and Central Asian restaurants. As it serves the local immigrant community, it has a more authentic feel to it than anything you can find in Seoul.

Do

thumb|A view of Seoul from Ansan

Buy

Lotte Mart, Homeplus and E-mart are some of Korea's major supermarket/shopping mall chains; they have several branches in Ansan. There are also several other large shopping malls and numerous medium and smaller stores.

Around Ansan station and ERICA campus there are many foreign markets (Chinese, Russian, etc.) providing foreign food and merchandise.

Eat

There are many foreign restaurants including Indian, Indonesian, Pakistani and others mostly being situated near Ansan station.

Drink

Ansan's main downtown area is opposite Jungang Station and features dozens of bars and coffee shops.

Sleep

There are a bunch of cheap love motels in Ansan. To find these cross the street from the station, go 5 or 6 blocks and veer to your left a street or two. They range from between ₩50,000 to ₩80,000, and most will have large TV's with cable, Internet and PC, and some nicer ones even have baths.

Hotels, in the standard sense, are rare in Ansan and are mostly 'business' hotels serving foreign visitors who visit Ansan's large industrial complex. Hotel 'Hi-Vice' is a basic business hotel and may serve for foreign visitors, with room rates ₩40,000-120,000 it is opposite Jungang Station and also features a wedding hall. There is also an international hotel located close to Sangoksu Station. However, as mentioned above, many motels are on par with 3-4 star hotels and are typically rather cheap.

Guest house is in Hanyang University. However, you need a permission from Hanyang University. Fee of standard room is ₩129,000, twin room, deluxe double and deluxe twin for ₩176,000 and Royal suite for ₩400,000. They furnished super high speed of Internet, central heating system, individual air condition, available international phone call at anytime and satellite broadcasting that provide variety of internal and external channels.thumb|Guest house in Hanyang University

Stay safe

Ansan has higher than average crime levels for South Korea, although it is still very safe by global standards.

Go next

Daebudo - an island administratively part of Ansan and famous for its mud flats. Suwon - with the world heritage listed Hwaseong Fortress. Songdo - also called "Songdo International Business District", with lots of skyscrapers. Incheon - South Korea's third largest city, best known for its airport but also featuring many cultural attractions. Seoul - the lively national capital with modern and ancient attractions to keep you busy for weeks. Yongin - Korean amusement park Ever-Land is in Yongin.