© Lonely Planet 318 Chungcheongnam-do 충청남도 It’s close to Seoul and home to the fifth largest city in South Korea, Daejeon, but Chungnam – as it’s more commonly known – is not the most scintillating of provinces. Its attractions are largely very old (5th-century Baekje capitals) or utterly recreational (a bevy of beaches). Much of the buzz in recent years has focused on a new administrative national capital Sejong City, to be built near Gongju, but whether it materialises depends on the political winds in Seoul. For now, it’s Daejeon that’s the capital manqué, with flashy KTX services, all the trappings of modern Korean life and all its lack of urban charms as well. More interesting are the small towns left in its wake: little Geumsan is the hub of the ginseng industry, while Gongju and tiny Buyeo were once capitals of the ancient Baekje dynasty. The latter towns have retained a surprising number of old fortresses, tombs and relics, chief among them the tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju – like King Tut’s tomb, it was uncovered in modern times with all its burial artefacts miraculously intact. The province’s other main draw is its beaches. Daecheon Beach in the south is widely considered to be the best on the western coast, while travellers preferring some solitude can hop on a ferry to one of the nearby islands. To the north is Taean Haean National Park, dotted with more islands, beaches and the promise of wind-whipped fresh air – just what most day-trippers from Seoul are looking for. HIGHLIGHTS Marvel at the 1500-year-old treasures from King Muryeong’s tomb (p325 ) in Gongju CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO Climb up the fortress in Buyeo ( p328 ) where the Baekje army made its last stand Chill out at Daecheon Beach ( p331 ) and Daecheon Gongju indulge in some mud spa treatments Beach Gyeryongsan Hike from one end of Gyeryongsan National Park National Park ( p323 ) to the other, taking Buyeo in pagodas and pokpo (waterfalls) along the way TELEPHONE CODE: 041 (DAEJEON: 042) POPULATION: 2 MILLION AREA : 8586 SQ KM lonelyplanet.com CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO •• Daejeon 319 0 50 km CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO 0 30 miles To Seoul (48km) W E S T S E A Osan Janghowon ( Y e l l o w S e a ) GYEONGGI-DO Daenanji-do Asan Bay Anseong Geumwang Pyeongtaek Cheollipo 11 Arboretum Independence ὄὄὈὈ Cheonan Hall of Korea Mallipo Mallipo Beach Taean Seosan 10 Deoksan Yeonpo Haemi Yesan Mongsanpo CHUNGCHEONGBUK-DO Taean Haean Cheongju National Marine Park Hongseong ὄὄὈὈ Magok-sa Geumgang Anmyeon Cheonsu Bay Anmyeon-do Gongju Kkotji Beach Yeongmukhang Gap-sa Janggo-do Wonsan-do Boryeong See Gyeryongsan To Daegu National Park See Sapsi-do Map (p333) Daecheon Donghak-sa (100km) ὄὄHarbour Map (p324)Ὀ Hodo 1 Daecheon DAEJEON Nok-do Beach Buyeo Oeyeon-do Muchangpo Nonsan 11 Daedunsan 3 Provincial Park Seocheon River Geum Ὀ Geumsan CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO CHUNGCHEONGNAM-DO W E S T S E A Gunsan ( Y e l l o w S e a ) Iksan JEOLLABUK-DO To Jeonju (7km) ὈὈ History has relatively low peaks (for Korea) and is When the Baekje dynasty (57 BC–AD 668) was crisscrossed with hiking trails. Taean Haean pushed south by an aggressive Goguryeo king- consists of numerous islands and beaches, dom in AD 475, this is where the Baekje ended some of which can be reached only by boat. up, establishing their capital first in Ungjin (modern-day Gongju), then moving further Getting There & Around south to Sabi (modern-day Buyeo). Its culture High-speed KTX trains connect Cheonan and was fairly sophisticated, but after Sabi fell to Daejeon to Seoul and Busan, while Saemaul the joint army of Shilla and China in AD 660, (express) and Mugunghwa (semi-express) the region passed into obscurity. It remains to trains run from Seoul to Daecheon station be seen whether plans for a new capital, Sejong in Boryeong. Other towns are served only City, will rejuvenate the province. by buses. National Parks DAEJEON 대전 Chungnam has two national parks: the moun- %042 / pop 1.5 million tains of Gyeryongsan ( p323 ) and the marine The fifth-largest city in South Korea, Daejeon swathe of Taean Haean (p333 ). Gyeryongsan (www.daejeon.go.kr/language/english) is the locus of .