Our visit to Nami Island was definitely the biggest highlight of
our Korean trip by far. While we were a bit too early for fall colours viewing in
Naejangsan two days ago, we couldn't have gone to Nami Island at a better time! The foliage on the island was a just splendid blend of green, golden yellow and red.
Nami Island is renowned for its beautiful scenery in all seasons. It became all the more famous as a filming location of the TV drama Winter Sonata. Aired in 2002, this classic is said by some to be what started the Hallyu (Korean Wave 韓流) or the global rise in popularity of Korean culture in the early 2000s.
 |
| Nami Island ferry |
To get to Nami Island, one needs to take a ferry from Gapyeong 加平. While there is public transport from Seoul to Gapyeong, we decided to share a taxi to get there, hopefully to 'beat the crowd' expected on a Sunday in the height of the tourist season. Even so, it appeared that we were not early enough. In fact, traffic was so heavy on the road towards the ferry pier that the taxi driver suggested that we got off a fair distance away and made the the remaining journey on foot.
Vistors lining up for the ferry were greeted by at a gate with a welcoming sign to Naminara Republic, aka Nami Island.
 |
| Long queue for the Nami Island ferry |
 |
| Welcome sign to Naminara Republic, aka Nami Island |
 |
| Ferry sailing from Nami Island |
 |
| Approaching Nami Island pier |
 |
| Boarding Nami Island ferry |
Several paths lined by different species of trees run through Nami Island. Strolling under the shades is a nice escape from city life.
 |
| Path lined by pine trees on Nami Island |
 |
| Fall foliage, Nami Island |
 |
| Maple, Nami Island |
 |
| Bright red maple foliage |
 |
| Maple in the fall, Nami Island |
 |
| One of countless photo ops on Nami Island |
 |
| Gingko |
 |
| Spirit of autumn on Nami Island |
 |
| Yellow gingko trees |
One of the most popular spots on the Island must be Metasequoia Lane, recognizable as a filming location of Winter Sonata. The lead characters of the drama are immortalized by a bronze statue placed on the island, providing a pilgrimage site for fans from around the world.
 |
| Iconic Metasequoia Lane, a famous filming location of Winter Sonata |
 |
| A giant Winter Sonata poster marks a filming location of the drama |
 |
| First love --- young Joon-sang and Yoo-jin of Winter Sonata |
 |
| Quite a few visitors rented bicycles to ride through the tree-lined paths --- possibly to re-enact iconic scenes of Winter Sonata? |
 |
| Carpet of yellow leaves on Nami Island |
 |
| Fall colours, Nami Island |
 |
| Red squirrel with dark winter coat and distinctive ear-tufts |
 |
| Red maple |
We were grateful that we had visited the island at a perfect time of the year. The autumn scenery on Nami Island was so captivating that visitors would stay as long as they could afford. It was approaching 5pm when we decided it was time to go. The full day spent on the island just seemed to have passed in no time.
Like us, many others seemed reluctant to leave. We joint a very long queue waiting for the ferry back before sunset. There was an equally long queue for the bus to Gapyeon 加平 Station. From there, we took the train to Yongsan 龍山 Station in Seoul, followed by a transfer to the subway to get back to Myeong-dong. For the last dinner in our Korean trip, we chose to have Korean barbeque on Myeongdong 3-gil, where there was no shortage of choices of eateries.
No comments:
Post a Comment