nice places around chungju

Today I managed to find every place I was looking for and more while biking around the city. I've been looking for the biggest stationary store in Chungju, as recommended to me (with maps) by multiple people. I could never find it before, but managed to today, after passing it by a bunch of times in my previous searches.

 성충문구. There are apparently two in Chungju, this one is in northern part at the edge of the city, close to the road that takes you out to Chungju dam. It's about two blocks west, if you turn left instead of going straight out of the city and to the dam. One is close to the market downtown, but I haven't found that one yet. The massive sign is hard to see if you're on the sidewalk, and the windows are mirrored, so it's easy to miss.

Inside. They've got more supplies than I've found anywhere else, and lots of nerdy stuff like mini trees and people so you can make dioramas if you're into that kind of thing. Lots of neat things to sort through. It's now my new go to place for art supplies in the city.

Another awesome find was this brand new world mart! It reminds me of one in Daegu. They were sadly lacking in Indian foods, but they did have a nice selection of dried beans, including chickpeas! Nothing was priced though, which can be pretty annoying to have to ask how much every single thing costs.
Here's an updated post with more details on how to get there: World Mart

I walked away with ladies fingers curry from Sri Lanka (I haven't had okra in forever), seaweed jelly powder (vegetarian!) from the Philippines and Indonesian iced tea that immediately disappeared. I will definitely be making return trips. They're right by the market, along the river beside the tented areas.

Just look for their banner (it's to the right, too much glare from the sun) and turn right at it. It's right there, but easy to miss since it's 10m from the road and there's really nothing else around it.

 It's along the road with the biggest bike store I've seen in the city so far, close to the orange triangle bridge.

 And I finally managed to find the cool train cafe/bar 기차여행 that I was looking for. I managed to pass by it without noticing it a couple of times. I have no idea how that's possible, it's pretty distinctive.

It's made out of an old train and has a cool bike fence. They weren't open, but coffee, tea, pat bingsu, soju and beer were on the menu outside. Now that I finally found it, I'll have to to make a trip back when it's open and check out the interior.

 And for some reason I've been craving and eating a lot of eggplants recently. I've just been pan frying them with some soy sauce, chili oil, peppers, garlic, and sesame oil and serving over rice. I like eggplants, but I usually don't buy them often. I guess my tastes are developing.