- 1–2 hrs
Highlights
- 2025년 9월 다시 문을 연 17만㎡ 테마공원
- 능수버들길을 포함한 2.5km 순환 산책로
- 계절마다 바뀌는 음악분수·물놀이장
- 연못가의 조선 시대 문루 영남루
- 삼남대로가 갈라지던 천안삼거리와 「흥타령」 이야기
About this place
Cheonan Samgeori Park commemorates the Cheonan crossroads made famous across Korea by the folk song Heungtaryeong and its line about the weeping willows of Cheonan Samgeori. First laid out in the 1970s, it spent years mainly as an event ground and car park – criticised as a park in name only – before a 3-year-8-month redevelopment reopened it as a family park on 1 September 2025. With a 2.5 km willow-lined loop, a musical fountain and a splash area, it is Cheonan's newest place to unwind.
Where the roads divided
In the Joseon era Cheonan was where the Samnam-daero, the main road south from Hanyang (Seoul), split towards Gyeongsang Province (Daegu and Gyeongju) and towards Chungcheong and Jeolla (Gongju and Nonsan). "Cheonan Samgeori" – the Cheonan three-way junction – came to stand for this busy stopping place for travellers and traders, though the exact spot is still debated. The junction on the newer road built in 1918 saw the Battle of Cheonan in July 1950, and a separate Martin Park there is named after a US colonel killed in the fighting. The willows here are tied to the legend of Neungso, and Heungtaryeong appeared as a song in Kim Dong-hwan's 1933 play Neungsubeodeul (The Weeping Willow), and in 1936 an arrangement by Kim Gyo-seong sung by Seonu Il-seon spread it across the country. It has since been retold in novels, a film, madang theatre and a musical. Cheonan's big Heungtaryeong Dance Festival takes its name from the song.
The redesigned park
The whole 173,000 m² site was rebuilt at a cost of KRW 72 billion and divided into four themed areas – the Eoul, Play, Water-Light and Green Gardens. The main features are:
- Musical fountain and splash area: the centre of the park changes with the seasons between a musical fountain, a splash area and an open plaza, with a media wall showing video beside it.
- Treetop sky-path playground: a 41 m elevated play trail, a good bet with children.
- Lawns and plaza: wide lawns for a picnic blanket or events.
- Loop trail: a 2.5 km circuit runs around the edge of the park, including a willow walk, with forest, wildflower and waterside paths and a 65 m red-clay path for walking barefoot.
- Yeongnamnu: a pavilion thought to be the gate tower of the Joseon-era Hwachukgwan lodge, listed as a Chungcheongnam-do heritage site.
Weeping willows hang over paths all around the park, so in spring you can walk under curtains of fresh green branches.
Tripto tips
- Best time: April–May, when the willows come into leaf, and autumn for the foliage. In summer, aim for when the splash area and fountain are running.
- Time needed: allow 1–2 hours for the loop trail and the ponds.
- Fees: entry to the park is free. Check Cheonan city announcements for fountain and splash-area schedules.
- Getting there: about 4 km south-east of Cheonan Station (Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1) and Cheonan Bus Terminal; take a city bus or taxi.
- Combine it with: the Independence Hall of Korea is about 5 km to the east and makes an easy day out together.
Plan your visit
Getting there
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