Nami Island (Namiseom)

Nami Island (Namiseom) is a half-moon-shaped island in the Bukhan River, criss-crossed by avenues of metasequoias, Korean pines and ginkgo trees. It was not originally an island but a riverside hill; it became one in 1944, when the Cheongpyeong Dam raised the water level. Made famous abroad as a filming location of the TV drama "Winter Sonata", it is now especially popular with international travellers.

History: from peanut fields to a forest island

The island is about 5 km around and covers some 430,000 m². It belongs to Namsan-myeon in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, but the ferry pier is in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Its name comes from General Nami of the Joseon dynasty, who was falsely accused of treason under King Yejong and died at the age of 28. A pile of stones on a hill in the north of the island was long said to be his grave; his real tomb is in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

In 1965 Min Byeong-do bought the island, then little more than sand and peanut fields, and began planting trees; from 1966 his Gyeongchun Tourism Development company turned it into a leisure resort. From the 1960s to the 1990s it was known as a day-trip resort, a location for the film "Winter Wanderer" and host of a riverside song festival. The company was renamed Nami Island Inc. in 2000, and in 2006 it declared "cultural independence" as the "Naminara Republic", a tourism brand. True to the theme, the annual membership is called a "passport": the standard passport (KRW 69,000) gives unlimited entry for a year. Today around 30,000 trees grow on the island, and in 2024 it was named Korea's largest private garden.

What to see

• Metasequoia Lane: planted in the early 1970s with saplings from Seoul National University's college of agriculture, it became the island's symbol thanks to scenes from "Winter Sonata".
• Ginkgo Lane: a little over 100 m from the Central Plaza to the villas. In autumn it turns into a yellow carpet, topped up with ginkgo leaves sent from Songpa District in Seoul. A second ginkgo avenue, the Riverside Lovers' Ginkgo Lane, follows the river bank.
• Cherry and pine lanes: in mid to late April the cherry lane from the Central Plaza to Hotel Jeonggwanru is in bloom. It is also called the "Friends' Lane", a play on the Korean words for cherry (beot) and friend (beot). The fragrant Korean pine lanes, such as the central one from the Naminaru pier to the Central Plaza, are pleasant all year.
• Birch Lane and reed path: the birch lane along the river at the northern tip and the reed path on the east bank are usually quieter.
• The giant trees: a chestnut, a horse chestnut and a ginkgo that have grown here since the island was still dry land, a red pine and a poplar thought to be over 250 years old, and an 11-tonne maple are counted as the island's guardian trees.
• 27 gardens: themed gardens created with other regions, memorial gardens for the people who shaped the island and a "citizens' forest" planted by visitors are scattered across the island.
• General Nami's grave site: in 1965 a burial mound and memorial stone were set up at the pile of stones that gave the island its name.
• Animals: ostriches, peacocks, rabbits and squirrels roam the island freely.

Good to know

After "Winter Sonata" became a hit across Asia in 2002, visitors from Taiwan, Japan, China and Southeast Asia arrived in growing numbers and the island turned into an international destination. In 2010 it became Korea's first UNICEF Child Friendly Park, and it offers a prayer room for Muslim travellers and halal-certified restaurants. With performance spaces, galleries and a picture-book centre on the island, shows and exhibitions take place all year round. A small narrow-gauge train (610 mm) runs from the pier to the centre of the island, and a zip line from an 80-metre tower on the Gapyeong side flies visitors across the river onto the island.

Tripto tips

• Tickets: including the return ferry, KRW 19,000 for adults, KRW 16,000 for middle and high school students and visitors aged 70 and over, and KRW 13,000 for children from 36 months to primary school age. Going in by motorboat costs KRW 29,000 for adults. Tickets bought before 08:00, or in the evening (after 18:01 from December to March, after 18:31 from April to November), cost KRW 13,000.
• Ferry times: the first boat to the island leaves at 08:00 and the last at 21:00; the last boat back leaves at 21:05. Boats run every 10–20 minutes between 09:00 and 18:00 and every 30 minutes at other times; the crossing takes about 5 minutes. Hours are extended in the spring blossom, summer holiday and autumn foliage seasons.
• Getting there: take the Gyeongchun Line subway (about 50 minutes from Sangbong) or the ITX-Cheongchun train (about 60 minutes from Yongsan, 42 minutes from Cheongnyangni) to Gapyeong Station. From there the pier is 1.5 km away: about 20 minutes on foot, or 5 minutes by bus 10-4 or taxi. From Chuncheon, Gapyeong is about 28 minutes by Gyeongchun Line or 20 minutes by ITX-Cheongchun. A direct shuttle bus also runs daily from Hongik University Station, Myeong-dong and Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station in Seoul.
• Parking: the pier car park costs KRW 6,000 for a small car (up to 12 hours), card payment only.
• When to go: in the busy autumn foliage season, when extra boats are added, catch the first ferry of the morning for quieter paths.
• Staying over: a night at Hotel Jeonggwanru on the island lets you walk its paths in peace after the last ferry has gone.
• Time needed: allow 2 to 3 hours to walk around the island.