Metropolitan city (pop., 2000: 1,365,961), capital of South Ch'ungch'ŏng province, southeastern South Korea.
It was a poor village until rail connections spurred development in the early 1900s. During the Korean War (1950–53) it was a temporary capital of South Korea, and 70% of the city was destroyed; it has since been rebuilt. The manufacture of cotton textiles, machinery, and chemicals has been developed. Chungnam National University and several other colleges are located there.