Korea's Saemaul Express comfortably links Seoul with Pusan

- Çѱ¹ÀÇ Æ¯±Þ¿­Â÷ »õ¸¶À»È£, ¼­¿ï-ºÎ»ê°£ ³ë¼±À» ¾È¶ôÇÏ°Ô ¿îÇà

By Franklin Fisher, Taegu bureau chief
Stripes Pacific Travel, Thursday, July 18, 2002

¡Ø ÀÌ ±ÛÀº ¹Ì±¹ÀÇ ¾î´À ÀÎÅÍ³Ý ½Å¹®¿¡ 2002³â 7¿ù 18ÀÏÀÚ·Î ½Ç¸° ±â»çÀÌ´Ù. »õ¸¶À»È£°¡ ÇÑâ Àß ³ª°¡´ø ½ÃÀý¿¡ »õ¸¶À»È£¸¦ Ãß¾ïÇϱ⿡ ´õ¾øÀÌ ÁÁÀº ±â·ÏÀÌ°í, °Ô´Ù°¡ ¿Ü±¹ÀÎÀÇ ±ÛÀ̶ó´Â Á¡¿¡¼­ ´õ¿í Áø±ÍÇÑ ÀÚ·áÀÌ´Ù. ÀÌ¿¡ ¿µ¾î ¿ø¹®À» ÀüÀçÇÔ°ú µ¿½Ã¿¡ ¹ø¿ª¹®À» ½Æ´Â´Ù. ÇöÀç´Â ¿ø¹®À» Á¦°øÇÏ´Â »çÀÌÆ®°¡ Á¢¼ÓµÇÁö ¾Ê°í ÀÖ´Ù. - ¿Å±äÀÌ ÁÖ

´ç½Ã »çÀÌÆ®¿¡ ÀÖ´ø »çÁø ¼³¸í (Greg L. Davis / S&S)

Sunlight throws deep shadows across the open-air platforms of East Taegu Station as we wait for what may be South Korea¡¯s best-kept secret.

It¡¯s the Korean National Railroad¡¯s green-and-yellow Saemaul Express, part of the system¡¯s Kyongbu Line that makes the scenic run between South Korea¡¯s two biggest cities, Seoul, the teeming, congested capital in the northwest, and gritty, bustling Pusan, its leading seaport, in the southeast. It covers the 275 miles in four and one-half hours.

ÇÞ»ì ¾Æ·¡·Î £Àº ±×´ÃÀÌ µå¸®¿öÁ® ÀÖ´Â µ¿´ë±¸ ¿ªÀÇ ¿Á¿Ü ½Â°­Àå. ¿ì¸®°¡ ±â´Ù¸®°í ÀÖ´Â °ÍÀº ´ëÇѹα¹À̶õ ³ª¶óÀÇ ÀÏ±Þ ºñ¹ÐÀ̶ó ÇÒ ¸¸ÇÑ °ÍÀÌ´Ù.

±× ºñ¹ÐÀ̶õ ¹Ù·Î Çѱ¹ öµµÃ»ÀÌ ¿îÇàÇϴ Ư±Þ¿­Â÷ÀÎ »õ¸¶À»È£ÀÌ´Ù. ÃÊ·Ï°ú ³ë¶û µµ»öÀÎ ÀÌ ¿­Â÷´Â Çѱ¹ öµµ °æºÎ¼±À» ¿îÇàÇÏ´Â Â÷Á¾ Áß Çϳª·Î, ³²ÇÑ ÃÖ°íÀÇ µÎ ´ëµµ½ÃÀÎ ¼­¿ï°ú ºÎ»ê »çÀ̸¦ »ý»ýÇÏ°Ô ¿À°£´Ù. ºÏ¼­ÂÊ¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ¼­¿ïÀº Àα¸°¡ ±Øµµ·Î ¹ÐÁýÇØ ÀÖ´Â ¼öµµÀÌ¸ç ºÎ»êÀº À̸§¸¸ µé¾îµµ ÀÚ°¥¡¤ ¸ð·¡°¡ ¿¬»óµÇ´Â ³²µ¿ÂÊÀÇ ºÐÁÖÇÑ Ç×±¸ µµ½ÃÀÌ´Ù. »õ¸¶À»È£´Â 275¸¶ÀÏ(¾à 442km) °Å¸®¸¦ ³× ½Ã°£ ¹Ý¸¸¿¡ ¿ÏÁÖÇÑ´Ù.

On a nearby inside track, an orange-striped passenger train of the KNR¡¯s Mugungwha line pulls out with a short blast of its horn.

Well down the line squats the darkish green rectangle of a diesel locomotive, waiting stolidly in the sun, its riveted steel plates running flat and square along its fume-blackened sides. Behind it, gleaming, were the clamshell-white passenger cars it would haul to Pohang, another east coast seaport and Korea¡¯s major steel-making center.

±ÙóÀÇ ³»Ãø ½Â°­Àå¿¡´Â ÁÖȲ»ö ÁÙ¹«´Ì¸¦ ÇÑ ¹«±ÃÈ­È£°¡ ©¸·ÇÑ °æÀû ¼Ò¸®¸¦ »ÕÀ¸¸ç ¿ªÀ» ºüÁ®³ª°£´Ù. ÀÌ ¿ª½Ã Çѱ¹ öµµÃ»ÀÌ ¿î¿µÇÏ´Â ¿©°´ ¿­Â÷ÀÌ´Ù.

Á÷»ç±¤¼±À» ¹ÞÀ¸¸ç ¿ìµÎÄ¿´Ï ´ë±â ÁßÀÌ´ø µðÁ© ±â°üÂ÷´Â ¼±·Î Àú Æí ½Ã¾ß ¹ÛÀ¸·Î ÀÛ¾ÆÁ® °£´Ù. £Àº ³ì»ö Á÷»ç°¢Çü ¸ð¾çÀÌ´Ù. öÆÇÀ¸·Î µÈ ÆíÆòÇÑ °Ñ¸éÀº ´ë°¥¸øÀ¸·Î °íÁ¤µÇ¾î ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, °Ë°Ô ±×À»¸° ¿·ÂÊÀ¸·Î ³ª¶õÈ÷ À̾îÁø´Ù. ±× µÚ·Î´Â ÀÌ ±â°üÂ÷°¡ Æ÷Ç×À¸·Î ²ø°í °¥ Èò»ö °è¿­ µµ»ö °´Â÷µéÀÌ ½ºÃÄ Áö³ª°¬´Ù. ¸¶Ä¡ Á¶°³²®µ¥±â °°Àº »ö±òÀÌ´Ù.  Æ÷Ç×Àº µ¿ÇØ»ó¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ¶Ç ´Ù¸¥ Ç×±¸ µµ½ÃÀ̸ç, Çѱ¹ÀÇ ÁÖ¿ä ö°­ »ý»êÁöÀ̱⵵ ÇÏ´Ù.

The Saemaul Express is distinguished by a green stripe but it is informally known as the Blue Line, because early Saemaul trains bore a blue stripe. KNR executives prefer not to call it by its former name, but ticket employees still often do.

Now a woman¡¯s voice on the loudspeaker calmly calls our train: the Saemaul, pronounced Seh-mah-eul.

We¡¯ve decided to it take for a day-trip to Pusan, a city well-known for the sands of Haeundae and other beaches, the vast Chagalchi fish market, and the craggy seaside cliffs of Taejongdae Park.

We¡¯ll go the 73 miles in 1 hour, 20 minutes.

»õ¸¶À»È£´Â °Ñ¿¡ ÃÊ·Ï»ö ÁÙ¹«´Ì°¡ ÀÖ´Â °Ô Ư¡ÀÌ´Ù. ÇÏÁö¸¸ Åë»ó ¡°ÆĶû¼±¡±À¸·Î ºÒ¸®±âµµ Çϴµ¥, ÀÌ´Â »õ¸¶À»È£ Ãʱ⠵µ»öÀÌ ÆĶõ»ö ÁÙ¹«´Ì¿´±â ¶§¹®ÀÌ´Ù. öµµÃ» °£ºÎµéÀº °ú°ÅÀÇ À̸§À» ¾²Áö ¸» °ÍÀ» ±ÇÇÏÁö¸¸, ¸ÅÇ¥¼Ò Á÷¿øµéÀº Á¾Á¾ ¾ÆÁ÷µµ ±×·± ¸íĪÀ» ¾²±âµµ ÇÑ´Ù.

ÀÌÁ¦ ¿ì¸®°¡ Ÿ´Â ¿­Â÷ À̸§À» ºÎ¸£´Â ¿©ÀÚ À½¼ºÀÌ È®¼º±â·Î Èê·¯³ª¿Â´Ù. »õ-¸¶-À».

¿ì¸®´Â ºÎ»êÀ¸·Î ´çÀÏÄ¡±â ¿©ÇàÀ» ¶°³ª±â·Î Çß´Ù. ºÎ»êÀº ÇØ¿î´ë ¹é»çÀåÀ» ºñ·ÔÇÑ ¿©·¯ Çؼö¿åÀåÀÌ ÀÖ°í °Å´ëÇÑ ÀÚ°¥Ä¡ ¾î½ÃÀåÀÌ ÀÖ°í, ¹Ù´Ù°¡ º¸ÀÌ´Â ÅÂÁ¾´ë °ø¿øÀÇ ÇèÁØÇÑ ¹ÙÀ§ ³¶¶°·¯Áö·Îµµ À¯¸íÇÏ´Ù.

73¸¶ÀÏ(¾à 117km) µÇ´Â °Å¸®¸¦ 1½Ã°£ 20ºÐ¸¸¿¡ °¥ °ÍÀÌ´Ù.

One-way weekend fares between East Taegu Station — the KNR spells it Dongdaegu — and Pusan are 8,900 won, (about $7.50). Monday through Friday they vary from 8,500 to 7,600 won depending on time of travel. The railroad stations are a cab ride away.

The trip affords the foreign visitor glimpses of brown farming valleys, gray-tiled roofs of traditional kiwa-style farmhouses and the green mountain ridges that lie virtually everywhere in Korea. There¡¯ll also be the familiar clusters of Korea¡¯s apartment high-rises, its factories and, in the seats themselves, the people of Korea.

µ¿´ë±¸¿¡¼­ ºÎ»ê±îÁöÀÇ ÁÖ¸» Æíµµ ¿îÀÓÀº 8900¿ø(¾à 7´Þ·¯ 50¼¾Æ®)ÀÌ´Ù. ¿ù-±Ý¿äÀÏ »çÀÌ¿¡´Â ÀÌ¿ë ½Ã±â¿¡ µû¶ó 8500¿ø¿¡¼­ 7600¿ø±îÁö ¿îÀÓÀÌ º¯Çϱ⵵ ÇÑ´Ù. ¿ª±îÁö´Â ¸ðµÎ Åý÷Π°¥ ¸¸ÇÑ °Å¸®ÀÌ´Ù.

¿Ü±¹ÀÎ ¹æ¹®°´ÀÇ °üÁ¡¿¡¼­ ÀÌ ¿©ÇàÀÌ Á¦°øÇÏ´Â º¼°Å¸®µéÀº ¿©·µ ÀÖ´Ù. °æÀÛ ÁßÀÎ ´Ù°¥»öÀÇ °è°î, ÀüÅëÀûÀΠȸ»ö ±â¿ÍÁý ÇüÅÂÀÎ ³ó°¡µé, ±×¸®°í »ç½Ç»ó Çѱ¹ ¾îµð¼­³ª º¼ ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ÃÊ·Ï»ö »êµéÀÌ ½ºÃÄ Áö³ª°£´Ù. ¹°·Ð Çѱ¹ÀÇ °íÃþ ¾ÆÆÄÆ® ´ÜÁö¿Í °ø¾÷´ÜÁöµµ Ä£¼÷ÇÑ °ÍµéÀÌ°í, °¡±îÀÌ °´½Ç Á¼®¿¡´Â Çѱ¹Àε鵵 º¼ ¼ö ÀÖ´Ù.

Most Saemaul cars are of the Il-ban class, but some trains also pull a few of the Teuk-shil class, which costs about 20 percent more than the Il-ban. Our train to Pusan had 18 cars, two of them Teuk-shil.

On board, key announcements are made in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese.

¡°This is Sae-ma-eul train number 11, departing at 12:14 for Pusan Station,¡± said the recorded announcement, in the crisp-cadenced voice of a man speaking unaccented English. ¡°Please double-check your ticket.¡±

»õ¸¶À»È£ °´Â÷ÀÇ ´ëºÎºÐÀº ÀϹݽÇÀÌÁö¸¸ ÀϺΠ¿­Â÷¿¡´Â ¿îÀÓÀÌ 20ÆÛ¼¾Æ® °¡·® ´õ ºñ½Ñ Ư½Çµµ ¸î ·® Æí¼ºµÇ¾î ÀÖ´Ù. ¿ì¸®°¡ ź ºÎ»ê Çà ¿­Â÷´Â °´Â÷°¡ ÃÑ 18·®ÀÌ°í ±× Áß µÑÀÌ Æ¯½ÇÀ̾ú´Ù.

°´½Ç ³» ÁÖ¿ä ¾È³»¹æ¼ÛÀº Çѱ¹¾î, ¿µ¾î, ÀϺ»¾î, Áß±¹¾î ¼øÀ¸·Î Èê·¯³ª¿Â´Ù.

¡°ÀÌ ¿­Â÷´Â 12½Ã 14ºÐ¿¡ Ãâ¹ßÇÏ´Â ºÎ»ê Çà »õ¸¶À»È£ Á¦ 11 ¿­Â÷ÀÔ´Ï´Ù. °¡Áö°í °è½Å ½ÂÂ÷±Ç ³»¿ëÀ» È®ÀÎÇØ Áֽñ⠹ٶø´Ï´Ù.¡± ³ìÀ½µÈ ¿µ¾î ¾È³»¹æ¼ÛÀº ±½Á÷ÇÏ°í º°´Ù¸¥ ¾ï¾çÀÌ ¾ø´Â ¶Ç·ÇÇÑ ¸ñ¼Ò¸®ÀÌ´Ù.

Either class features well-cushioned seats. Uniformed railroad attendants pass through, pushing carts containing hot coffee, cold beverages, snacks and newspapers.

Video screens show sports and other programming, and there¡¯s matching audio you can hear with headphones. To hear the audio on the Il-ban cars, passengers must pay 900 won (about 76 cents) for a set of headphones that plug into an audio jack in the armrest of their seats. The Teuk-shil¡¯s audio system also allows a choice of music that includes jazz and Korean pop.

µÎ °´½Ç ¸ðµÎ ÃæºÐÈ÷ µÎÅùÇÏ°í Ç«½ÅÇÑ Á¼®À» Á¦°øÇÑ´Ù. À¯´ÏÆûÀ» ÀÔÀº öµµ ½Â¹«¿øÀÌ µû²öÇÑ Ä¿ÇÇ¿Í ³ÃÀ½·á, ½º³¼·ù, ÀÏ°£Áö°¡ µé¾îÀÖ´Â Ä«Æ®¸¦ ¸ô¸é¼­ °´½ÇÀ» Áö³ª°£´Ù.

ºñµð¿À È­¸é¿¡´Â ½ºÆ÷Ã÷¶óµç°¡ ´Ù¸¥ ÇÁ·Î±×·¥ÀÌ ¹æ¿µµÇ¸ç, ÇìµåÆùÀ» ²ÈÀ¸¸é ¿µ»ó°ú ÇÔ²² À½¼ºµµ µéÀ» ¼ö ÀÖ´Ù. ÀÏ¹Ý½Ç ½Â°´ÀÌ À½¼ºÀ» µéÀ¸·Á¸é 900¿ø(¾à 76¼¾Æ®)À» ³»°í ÇìµåÆùÀ» »ç¾ß ÇÑ´Ù. ÇìµåÆùÀº °¢ Á¼®ÀÇ ÆÈ°ÉÀÌ¿¡ ÀÖ´Â Àè¿¡´Ù ²ÈÀ¸¸é µÈ´Ù. Ư½Ç¿¡¼­´Â ä³ÎÀ» ¼±ÅÃÇÏ¿© ÀçÁ Çѱ¹ °¡¿ä °°Àº ´Ù¸¥ À½¾ÇÀ» µéÀ» ¼öµµ ÀÖ´Ù.

On the Teuk-shil, the headphones, beverages, candy and newspapers are free.

And the Teuk-shil offers eyeshades for passengers who want to sleep, and a wake-up service to ensure you don¡¯t snooze through your destination.

Ư½Ç¿¡¼­´Â ÇìµåÆù, À½·á¼ö, »çÅÁ°ú °¢Á¾ ÀÏ°£Áö¸¦ ¹«·á·Î ÀÌ¿ëÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ´Ù.

¶ÇÇÑ Æ¯½Ç¿¡¼­´Â ÀÚ°í ½Í¾îÇÏ´Â ½Â°´¿¡°Ô ¾È´ë¸¦ Á¦°øÇϸç, ¸ñÀûÁö ¿ªÀ» µµÁß¿¡ ³õÄ¡Áö ¾Êµµ·Ï ±ú¿ì¹Ì ¼­ºñ½º¸¦ ¿äûÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ´Ù.

Most Saemaul trains have meal service in the dining car during most of their run. But on the Seoul-to-Pusan run, all trains departing at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. have snack-car service featuring mostly fast food. On the Pusan-to-Seoul run, trains departing at 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. also have only the snack-car service.

The menu in the blue-carpeted snack car includes the ¡°Bulgogi Burger¡± for 3,500 won (about $3), the ¡°Rib Set¡± for 3,200 won, the ¡°Squid Ring¡± for 1,200 won, and what it called ¡°French Potato¡± for 1,000 won.

Also available: beverages including soft drinks like ¡°Orange¡± for 1,200 won, and ¡°Cola, Cider¡± for 900 won.

»õ¸¶À»È£ ¿­Â÷´Â »ó´ç¼ö°¡ ¿îÇà Áß¿¡ ½Ä»ç¸¦ ÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ½Ä´çÄ­À» ¿î¿µÇÑ´Ù. ÇÏÁö¸¸ ÇÏÇàÀÇ °æ¿ì ¿ÀÀü 8½Ã¿Í ¿ÀÈÄ 2½Ã¿¡ Ãâ¹ßÇÏ´Â ¿­Â÷´Â ÆнºÆ®Çªµå¸¦ ÁÖ·Î Ãë±ÞÇÏ´Â ½º³¼Ä­À¸·Î À̸¦ ´ëüÇÏ°í ÀÖ´Ù. »óÇàÀº ¿ÀÈÄ 4½Ã¿Í ¿ÀÈÄ 11½Ã¿¡ Ãâ¹ßÇÏ´Â ¿­Â÷°¡ ÀÌ¿Í °°´Ù.

½º³¼Ä­Àº Ǫ¸¥ Ä«ÆêÀÌ ±ò·Á ÀÖ´Â °Ô Ư¡À̸ç, ¿©±â¼­ ÀÌ¿ëÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ¸Þ´º´Â ¡°ºÒ°í±â¹ö°Å¡± 3500¿ø (¾à 3$), ¡°°¥ºñ ¼¼Æ®¡± 3200¿ø, ¡°¿À¡¾î ¸µ¡± 1200¿ø, ±×¸®°í ¡°°¨ÀÚÆ¢±è¡± 1000¿øÀÌ´Ù.

ÀÌ ¿Ü¿¡µµ û·®À½·á °°Àº À½·á¼öµµ ÀÌ¿ëÇÒ ¼ö ÀÖ´Ù. ¿À·»Áö ÁÖ½º°¡ 1200¿ø, ÄÝ¶ó³ª »çÀÌ´Ù´Â 900¿øÀÌ´Ù.

As we near Pusan, the venue for our day trip, an arrival announcement appears in English on the video screens. ¡°This train will soon arrive at Pusan Station.¡±

And when our time in Pusan ended that evening, we took a northbound Saemaul back to East Taegu Station, and home.

¡°This train will soon arrive at East Taegu Station,¡± said the recorded announcement. ¡°Please make sure you have all your luggage and other personal belongings with you before departing the train, and exit the train after it has come to a complete stop. Thank you and good-bye.¡±

¸ñÀûÁöÀÎ ºÎ»êÀÌ °¡±î¿ö ¿ÀÀÚ µµÂø ¾È³» ÀÚ¸·ÀÌ ºñµð¿À È­¸é¿¡ ¿µ¾î·Î ³ªÅ¸³­´Ù. ¡°Àá½Ã ÈÄ ºÎ»ê ¿ª¿¡ µµÂøÇÏ°Ú½À´Ï´Ù.¡±

ºÎ»ê¿¡¼­ ¹«¹Ú ÀÏÁ¤À» ¸¶Ä£ ÈÄ ¿ì¸® ÀÏÇàÀº Àú³á¿¡ »óÇà »õ¸¶À»È£¸¦ Ÿ°í µ¿´ë±¸ ¿ªÀ¸·Î µÇµ¹¾Æ°¬°í, °ðÀÌ¾î ±Í°¡Çß´Ù.

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