Suncheon or Suncheon City (순천시, 順天市) is the second-largest city in Jeollanam-do. It is comprised of 1 eup, 10 myeon and 12 dong and in 2004 had a population of 270,833. It is located in the southeastern portion of Jeollanam-do is bordered by Gwangyang city on the east, Boseong and Hwasun counties on the west, Gokseong county on the north, and Suncheon Bay on the south.
Suncheon has a number of popular tourist destinations, including two temples on the 884-meter-high Jogyesan mountain: Seonamsa and Songgwangsa. Dongcheon, a stream, runs through the city and has walking and biking paths as well as a duckie boat rental area. Notable parks include Jukdobong and Jogyesan Provincial Parks. It is also a relatively convenient place to do shopping, as there is an E-Mart, Homever, and Home Plus. Suncheon is dubbed the "City of Beautiful People" by its city council and the city's slogan is "Aha! Suncheon."
The city is currently experiencing strong development due to being included as part of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone, one of three newly created Free Economic Zones (FEZs) in South Korea due to open within the next decade.
[edit] Administrative divisions
For more information on the neighborhoods that comprise Suncheon, please visit Administrative divisions of Suncheon.
[edit] Statistics
| Year
| 1997
| 1998
| 1999
| 2000
| 2001
| 2002
| 2003
|
2004
|
| Number of residents
| 264,706
| 266,553
| 268,204
| 270.698
| 272.124
| 271,636
| 270,574
|
270,833
|
| Male
| 132,287
| 133,124
| 133,903
| 135.049
| 135.808
| 135,503
| 135,133
|
135,323
|
| Female
| 132,419
| 133,419
| 134,221
| 135.649
| 136.316
| 136,133
| 135,441
|
135,510
|
| Number of households
| 79,131
| 81,103
| 82,209
| 83.955
| 86.073
| 86,556
| 88,326
|
89,608
|
| Family members per household
| 3.34
| 3.28
| 3.26
| 3.22
| 3.16
| 3,13
| 3.06
|
3.0
|
| Rate of increase
| 0.97%
| 0.99%
| 0.99%
| 0.99%
| 0.99%
| 1.0%
| 1.0%
|
1.0%
|
[edit] Education
[edit] Tourism
Jogyesan mountain is 884 meters high and is a popular hiking spot in Jeollanam-do. There are two well-known temples on the mountain: Seonamsa and Songgwangsa. Nagan-eupseong Folk Village is an oft-visited traditional walled village in Nagan-myeon. Suncheon Bay, to the south, is ecologically significant and known for the numerous bird species that frequent the reeds along the water.
[edit] Recreation
Aside from the local tourist destinations described above, there are a number of small parks. The two most notable areas in urban Suncheon are Jukdobong Park, located atop a small mountain on the eastern side of the city, and Dongcheon, a stream which runs through the city and into Suncheon Bay. Dongcheon is bordered by biking and walking trails and has a number of fountains and exercise areas, plus a place to rent duckie boats.
[edit] Restaurants
There is an Outback Steakhouse restaurant located in Jorye-dong and a Joy's in Namnae-dong. The Vietnamese Restaurant, Hoa Binh, located in Maegok-dong is now closed. There is also a Japanese Restaurant in Yeonhyang-dong called Miss Roll.
As the average Korean, Japanese, and Chinese restaurants are in abundance throughout Korea and are easy for foreigners to find, the following restaurants reflect a sampling of restaurants considered to be either popular or are western-friendly choices and other ethnic foods.
The NEWEST and most popular foreigner-friendly bar in Suncheon is McCarthy's. It is owned by NewFoundlander, Harold Lear and features his band Dr.Bob and the Disco Beaver. It also features resident DJ, Mike Thompson, also known as B.Jinx. McCarthy's is located in Jorye-Dong(조례동) very close to HomePlus. Directions can be found on their Facebook page.[1]
Another bar frequented by foreigners in the past (and some now) is Elvis Bar. It is located in KeumDang-dong (금당동) near Suncheon Jeil Hospital. (순천 제일병원)
Another popular spot opened is T.G.I.?. located 3 blocks west from the Home PLUS and 4 blocks east of Cho-eun Plaza. While the menus are only in Korean, the manager and some of the staff speak limited English and will be very helpfull.
[edit] Movie theaters
There is a Primus Cinema located in Jangcheon-dong. It is accessible via a number of local buses. Visit this page for more information.
[edit] Shopping
Suncheon, like most medium sized cities in Korea has many huge department stores. Among the most popular destinations are two Home Plus stores (one was formerly a Homever), and an E-Mart. New Core Outlet caters to high-end fashion addicts and is located in Jorye-dong. There is also a Kim's Club, which carries all kinds of groceries. In Jungang-dong, near the Medical Rotary, is Fashion Street, several markets, and an underground shopping center.
[edit] Transportation
Suncheon takes about an hour to reach from the city of Gwangju. Further south from Suncheon is the city of Yeosu along the coast about 40 minutes away, and Gwangyang is about 20 minutes to the east.
[edit] By bus
Suncheon is well serviced with both an Inter-city and an Express bus terminal. The Inter-city terminals runs frequent services mainly to nearby cities in Jeollanam-do such as Gwangju, Yeosu, and Mokpo. Whereas, the Express bus terminal runs several-a-day bus services to large cities throughout Korea such as Seoul, Daegu, Busan and Suwon.
Please note that the Inter-city and Express bus terminals are located approximately 2 kilometres away from each other so it's best to know which terminal you'll be needing to use prior to arriving at one of the bus terminals. (from Korea Wiki)
- Update!! ** The Inter-city and Express bus terminals have been merged into one facility. All buses in and out of Suncheon are now serviced at the Suncheon Jong-Hab Bus Terminal (순천종합버스터미널) formerly known as the Shiwae Bus Terminal. Note, this is the same facility as the old Inter-city bus terminal.
[edit] Accommodation
There are plenty of tourist motels, love motels, youth hostels, and home stays throughout Suncheon. There are large clusters of love motels located in the Yeonhyang (new downtown) and Geumdang areas, as well as nearby the train station. There are also several tourist motels located around Shinae (Jangcheon-dong - old downtown), these seem to be somewhat over-priced for the accommodation they provide, and you're probably just as well booking into an up-scale lovel motel. There are also plenty of 24 hour jjimjilbangs and saunas providing a cheap overnight sleeping spot for the budget conscious traveler. Please browse this list for more detailed information about each location.
[edit] Image gallery
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Jogyesan, above Seonamsa temple
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See more images of Suncheon
[edit] External Links
