A-Train aka Jeongseon Arirang A-Train () is a South Korean
tourist train
''Tourist Train'' (Italian: ''Treno popolare'') is a 1933 Italian comedy film directed by Raffaello Matarazzo and starring Marcello Spada, Lina Gennari and Carlo Petrangeli. The film portrays the comic adventures of a group of summertime travelle ...
operated by
Korail
The Korea Railroad Corporation (Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed ...
. The train began operations in 2015 and transports tourists through
Jeongseon County
Jeongseon (''Jeongseon-gun'') is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is famous as the hometown of "Jeongseon Arirang," a traditional Korean folksong. It is also the hometown of actor Won Bin and footballer Seol Ki-hyeon.
Hi ...
in central
Gangwon-do.
Overview
The train opened on January 22, 2015, from
Cheongnyangni Station in northeastern
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
and passes through several stations in Gangwon-do, including Mindungsan and
Jeongseon
Jeongseon (''Jeongseon-gun'') is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is famous as the hometown of "Jeongseon Arirang," a traditional Korean folksong. It is also the hometown of actor Won Bin and footballer Seol Ki-hyeon.
Hi ...
, which hosts the "Jeongseon Five-day Market", and arriving at Auraji Station.
The "A" in the train's name comes from "
Arirang
"Arirang" (; ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "''Arirang, arirang, arariyo'' ()". It is estimated the song is more than 600 years old.
...
" (a Korean folk song), and the words "amazement" and "adventure". The song has many variations, and the Jeongseon Arirang is a regional one.
The song is listed as an
Intangible Cultural Heritage
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
and sometimes regarded as an unofficial anthem of Korea.
The train has four themed cars with large windows and glass walls; one is a sky room, one a tea room, and two of the cars are decorated in regional colors of red, yellow, blue and purple
representing Jeongseon's geographical features such as the
Dong River and the mountain ridges.
The train's exterior includes a purple color for the
pulsatilla
The genus ''Pulsatilla'' contains about 40 species of herbaceous perennial plants native to meadows and prairies of North America, Europe, and Asia. Derived from the Hebrew word for Passover, "pasakh", the common name pasque flower refers to the ...
, Jeongseon's official flower,
and is decorated with curves that symbolize the Arirang melody.
Activities on the train include storytelling, music, magic shows and quiz games.
The new line to Jeongseon is the first train to be named after a Korean town, and generated additional local interest due to the proximity of the scheduled
2018 Winter Olympics
, nations = 93
, athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women)
, events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening =
, closing =
, opened_by = President Moon Jae-in
, cauldron = Kim Yun-a
, stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium
, winte ...
in
Pyeongchang
Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...
, a nearby town.
Operations
*Started running: January 22, 2015
*Stations:
Cheongnyangni station -
Mindungsan station -
Byeoreogok station -
Sonpyong station -
Jeongseon station -
Najeon station -
Auraji station
*Approximate travel time: 3 Hours
References
External links
A-Train at Korail
{{Korail Tourist train Services
Passenger trains of the Korail
Tourist trains in South Korea