Seoul night owls flock to Cheonan to escape social distancing

A street of Dujeong area in Cheonan's Seobuk District is crowded with visitors to cafes, pubs and karaoke bars on July 3. Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

Social distancing under the unrelenting threat of COVID-19 has been shackling everyone these days, restricting people from meeting in groups of more than four in some major cities. Enforcement of the regulation has been especially strenuous in Seoul, the surrounding Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, where more than half of the country's total population is concentrated.

The regulation has frustrated many people, including those who enjoy their evenings at bars, cafes or restaurants, as such establishments in the capital region are only allowed to stay open until 10 p.m. to prevent late-night gatherings and thus minimize the risk of infection.

But nightlife seekers have apparently found a loophole, a place where social distancing is less strictly enforced and thus casual gatherings are more freely "allowed." This is why a rising number of people have started visiting Cheonan in South Chungcheong Province.

Seobuk District's Dujeong area, downtown Cheonan's biggest nightlife area that is packed with hundreds of bars and eateries, has been crowded with visitors in recent days ― even past 10 p.m. Most of them, according to staff working at some of the venues, are from the Seoul metropolitan area. Other have come from Gyeonggi Provincial cities such as Pyeongtaek, Osan and Suwon, which are located between Seoul and Cheonan.

One worker told Yonhap, July 2, that more than half of the customers came from Seoul and its nearby regions, and some failed to even wear masks.

Another employee working at a karaoke bar in the area said the area's night-time popularity continued even on weekdays. "Motels here have no vacancies," the employee said. "Everyone who booked lodging in advance is from the Seoul metropolitan area."

There are good reasons Cheonan has become a haven for night owls from Seoul and the surrounding area. The city with a population a little over 666,000, increased the cap on group sizes to eight, starting this month. Its close proximity is another plus, with Cheonan Station connecting to Seoul via metro and commuter trains, and only a 30-minute ride away from Pyeongtaek. Clubs and other adult-only entertainment facilities have been allowed to stay open 24 hours a day since March.

The city's food and liquor businesses are more at ease in contrast to Seoul, where a recent spike in COVID-19 infections has prolonged the city's planned mitigation of social distancing regulations by another week.

The Cheonan City Government, however, isn't that excited about the boom in business. It, in turn, has had to become more alert to potential infection risks because of the increasing number of visitors from out of town in recent weeks. On June 6, six people who later tested positive for COVID-19 visited a nightclub and a theater to see a play. The country's disease control authority found 1,044 people visited the same venues that day, and about 85 percent of them were from the Seoul metropolitan area, according to Yonhap.

"We have recently seen lots of COVID-19 infections around Cheonan's popular gathering places, including a local bar with live music performances," a city government official said. "Since Seoul and its metropolitan areas have delayed mitigating their social distancing regulations this week, we will have to watch our city's entertainment districts more closely."

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