Ansan travel guide

Ansan (Korean: 안산, Korean pronunciation: [an.san]) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

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. Ansan used to be Janghanggu County or Gosaya Holcha County in Goguryeo.

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.

Getting around

Hiring a bicycle is a good way to get around this city. There are bicycle sharing services such as 'Everybike (에브리 바이크)', 'KakaoBike (카카오 바이크)' and 'SOCAR elecle (쏘카 일레클)'.

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.