Namiseom

Namisum is a tiny half-moon shaped island located in Chuncheon, South Korea, formed as it was inundated by the rising water of the North Han River as the result of the construction of Cheongpyeong Dam (청평댐) in 1944. Its name originated from General Nami (남이장군), who died at the age of 28 after being falsely accused of treason during the reign of King Sejo, the seventh king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Although his grave wasn't discovered, there were a pile of stones where his body was supposed to be buried. It was believed that if someone took even one stone from there, it would bring misfortune to their house. A tour company arranged the grave with soil and then developed Namiseom into an amusement park.

Geography

Namisum is located 3.8 km from Gapyeong County, but belongs to Chuncheon in Gangwon-do. It is 430,000 square meters in area and approximately 4 km in diameter

Creator of Namisum

Kang Woohyun, born in Danyang County in 1953, majored in graphic design and was the president of the design company until 2000. Inaugurated as Namisum CEO in 2001, he has worked as an illustrator, a fairy tale writer, a graphic designer, an environmentalist and civil activist, and has been preoccupied with the development of a theme park in Namisum. He has placed much value on culture and environment Namisum's nature. Since his inauguration, he has tried to eliminate the merry-making image of the amusement park where visitors just play and drink, and recreate the place where nature is in harmony with art and culture Namisum's art and culture.

History

In 1965, Min Byungdo purchased and started to reforest the island. In 1966, he founded Gyeongchun Tourism Development Inc. and developed it into a resort town. He changed the firm name to Namisum Inc. in 2000.

In 2001, Namisum Inc. started to invest heavily in environment and art and culture-related events. Non-profit organizations such as YMCA and YWCA have participated in environment campaigns for recycling, environment monitoring and eco-friendly development. Furthermore, Namisum Inc. has been supporting various events ranging from paintings to applied art in cooperation with writers and international organizations such as UNICEF and UNESCO.

From 1960 to 1990, it was known as a location for a film "Winterreise(겨울나그네)" and "Riverside Song Festival(강변가요제)". Since 2001, it has become one of culture tourist attractions as the number of Asian tourists increases due to the success of Korean dramas. Also it has been in the spotlight of the international resort town with natural environment many foreigners living in Korea desire to visit.

Namisum declared independence as the Naminara Republic on 1 March 2006. It has drawn 1.5 million visitors a year on average.

Tourism

1. Namisum offers a bike center, an electric car tour and a swimming pool. It takes about 2 hours from Seoul by car. It provides visitors with a direct shuttle bus from Insadong in Jongno, Seoul.

2. Metasequoia path is a location for a Korean Drama "Winter Sonata(겨울연가)" produced by KBS. The forest path is surrounded by white birches and Korean white pines all year around. This place was used to film two main characters' childhood - Yujin and Joonsang step on each other's shadows after skipping class.

3. International festivals are held throughout the year. The International Book Festival, supported by KBBY is held every year and has contributed to improvement of children's books and culture. Another is YoPeFe where teenagers from different countries present their traditional dance and songs and teach them to each other. Through this experience, they learn each other's culture.

4. There are a recycling Center, an environment school and a green store. Namisum used to be filled with garbage such as bottles of Soju and scraps from visitors' food. Children learn the importance of protecting the environment.

Naminara Republic

Namisum is an imaginary country, but the "passport" issued from Naminara is required in order to enter Namisum. It declared itself a self-governing country in 2006 as acceding to General Nami's natural greatness of soul and appointed Ryu Hongjun as the 1st head of culture and Suzanna Samstag Oh as a foreign head. In addition, it has invented its own passport, currency, stamp and telephone card, and has promoted the establishment of Naminara in other countries.

See also

  • Insadong
  • Winter Sonata (a Korean drama)
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Tips & Hints
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Angeline Teoh
6 October 2017
Nami island is perfect during every season but I would recommend to come during autumn. The island is huge and you can rent bicycles or take a sky bike ride.
Justine MJ
29 April 2017
Gapyeong city bus tour: to Nami Island with ferry > Petite France & / Garden of Morning Calm. Be there early or wait for ferry. Rent bicycle to see the island faster. Nice view. Approached by JW.
Clement Tang
4 January 2015
Very cold in the winter. I would suggest go there after 15:00 to avoid the crowd, and you will also see the night view here. You can find the lockers at the wharf which cost you only 1,000w.
Girl Travel Factor
25 October 2019
One of the highlight of my South Korea trip, Nami Island. Love every scenery of this island it is also convenient for the tourist, there are food places and tourist booth.
J-OSL
21 May 2016
Took a ferry to Nami and walked around there for half a day, good climate at the beginning of autumn, pure nature, red leaves, and lots of big trees. Very relaxing!
Mohammad
24 April 2017
very beautiful island. its too big you can walk for hours here . try to get here using the cable zip wire . you will love it !
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michael (한뜻) Jang(장), Christina Png and 28,551 more people have been here
Map
0.1km from 198 Namsan-myeon, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea Get directions
Fri-Sun 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Mon-Wed 10:00 AM–5:00 PM

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