When palnning a trip to Dongducheon, expected the colorful night street food and crowed ambience, including a procession of U,S soldiers, but when I visited there, the term ‘fair travel’ came to mind. The city was busy in the early 1980s, but with the opening of Soyosan Station on Subway line 1 in 2006, U.S army prefered to go Itaewon and Yongsan rather than Dongducheon, and about 20,000 U.S army moved to Pyeongtaek Base in 2022, only 4,000 soldier left nowdays. As a result, I could see the quite urban atmosphere of the ‘Urdan Regeneration Support Center’.

■ Market in Dongducheon-si

Entrance of Yankee Market

Dongducheon Market, which has been oped since the 1960s, still has a itinerant market (5th, 0th), the market consists of a central market that deals with vegetables, groceries and clothing, Jeil Market centered on clothing, furniture, and shoes, a large market focused on vegetables and fruits, and a Yankee Market that handles imported goods. It is about 400m, 5 minutes away, located within walking distance of Dongducheon Jungang Station on Line 1.

L) U.S. military supply store, R) U.S. military combat food (MRE)

Anyone discharged from the military service might remember the military supply store they saw near the military base. In particular, I have a memory that my colleague bragged about when he served in the U.S. military. Some places sell sunglasses models and aerial jumpers that U.S. Army Gore-Tex and Tom Cruise have worn, and U.S. military combat food was purchased and eaten out of curiosity. It's quite full and delicious, so it's a food that you can try at least once.

L) Entrance of Central Market , R) Tourist Zone

Central markets, including other markets, have seen a noticeable number of stores closing, and some market alleys even seem to have more stores closing than opened stores. This seems to be due to the development of large supermarkets and online shopping.

L) Donggwang Theater, R) U.S army Shipping District

In downtown Dongducheon, there was Donggwang Theater, which opened in 1959, which is also known as the filming place for dramas for ‘Reply 1988’ and ‘Signal’. It is a theater where movies are still being played, as of October 2023, "1947 Boston" was being played, and movies at a relatively low price, with 9,000 won for adults and 7,000 won for teenagers. There were many barbershops and pawnshops, and in the past, many U.S. military clothing, watches, and electronics were traded at pawnshops.

■ Camp Bosan

Entrance of Camp Bosan

Camp Bosan refers to a special tourist zone for foreigners in the area of Bosan Station on Subway Line 1. This place opens after 18:00, so please keep that in mind. Near Bosan Station, there is World Food Street, where you can taste Turkish food such as kebab, Philippine and Myanmar food.

L)Club for foreigners, M)World Food Street, R) Bosan Station Underground Cultural Space

Interestingly, most bars in Camp Bosan have the word "foreigners only" written on their signboards, except for some stores. In the past, many young people worked in this area to earn foreign currency.

■ Liberty Protection and Peace Museum

Liberty Protection and Peace Museum

Liberty Protection and Peace Museum was established in May 2002 to announce the pain of the Korean War and to honor the Korean and U.N. forces. As it is located at the entrance of the Soyosan Mountain hiking trail, there were many visitors wearing hiking suits, and there is an experience center using virtual reality and augmented reality on the first floor, and materials on the Korean War and the UN forces are displayed on the second and third floors.

L) TR-726, M) Augmented Reality Experience Center, R) Figures

☞ Address : 96-63 Pyeonghwa-ro 2910beon-gil, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do

☞ Hours : 09:00 ~ 18:00 / Closed on Every Monday and Holidays

☞ Admission : Free / Parking 2,000won

☞ Phone :　031)860-3330~3

■ North Gyeonggi Children’s Museum

Second-floor exhibition hall

The North Gyeonggi Children's Museum was opened in May 2016 as a provincial museum and is currently operated by the Gyeonggi Cultural Foundation. The first floor consists of a dinosaur zone, a climber zone, a valley water zone, and a five-sense forest zone. It operates a dinosaur stomach exploration experience with 20 people per opening hour on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that reservations can be made from 7 days before the viewing date to the same day, and that on-site ticketing is not possible and reservations can only be made online.

☞ Booking website : https://ngcm.ggcf.kr/pages/ticketing

L) North Gyeonggi Children’s Museum M) Children in safety helmets R) Climber Zone

☞ Address : 46 Pyeonghwa-ro 2910beon-gil, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do

☞ Hours : 10:00 ~ 17:50 / Closed on Every Monday, Holidays

☞ Booking Hours : 10:00~11:30 / 12:00~13:30 / 14:00~15:30 / 16:00~17:00 (Unable to re-enter)

☞ Admission : Free

☞ Phone :　031-868-9610

■ Noljasoop

Noljasoop

The only forest theme park in major cities, Noljasoop is a large kid's cafe that combines not only indoors but also outdoors. If it's a trip with children, it's a recommended place to make memories with children. Outdoor integrated tickets are bit expensive, so many people use relatively inexpensive afternoon tickets. Indoor facilities include fun climb, aerial ropes, net adventures, slides, and kids adventures, but some facilities have a height limit of 120cm. Also, outdoor facilities include extreme slides, sky net adventure, forest adventure, and laser survival.

L) Net adventure M) Slides R) Funclimb

☞ Address : 1, Top-dong Gasan-ro, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do

☞ Hours : 10:00 ~ 18:00 / Closed on Every Monday (Except July, August)

☞ Admission (Parking Free)
- Integrated ticket (indoor + outdoor): 50,000 won / integrated ticket afternoon: 40,000 won
- Indoor tickets: 30,000 won, afternoon: 20,000 won
- Outdoor pass: 20,000 won, 16,000 won in the afternoon
- Junior experience tickets (less than 120cm tall): 25,000 won for all-day tickets / 20,000 won for afternoon tickets / 15,000 won for guardianship (required)
- Admission ticket (guardian who only enters without experiencing): 10,000 won

☞ Phone :　031-866-5560

■ Restaurant information (Source : Dongducheon-si Culture & Tourism Website )

Silbi-jip/p>

■ Silbi-jip : 91　690-2 Seosu-ro, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do / 031-865-8079

☞ 10:00 ~ 21:00 (Open 365days)

☞ Uijeongbu style budae jjigae is soybean paste base, Dongducheon style budae jjigae is red pepper paste base.

Ilmidam

■ Ilmidam : Donggwang-ro 73 in Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do / 031-866-4063

☞ Hot pot set, grilled fish, soy sauce marinated crab, pork Bulgogi

☞ 11:00~20:30, (Open 365days)

Mariage

■ Mariage : #102 - 14 Jungang-ro 7beon-gil, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do / 031-866-8991

☞ Western dishes such as Gambas, pizza, spaghetti, and platters

☞ 11:00 ~ 22:00 (break 15:00 ~ 17:00 on Weekdays)

☞ Mariage and Ragu are connected restaurants, and Mariage mainly sells alcoholic beverages at night