Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

Over the hot and rainy summer, many of the Saturdays in Korea activities have been indoors within the city limits of Seoul. For some of us, there was an itch to get back outside and enjoy the great outdoors. In the August edition of the SEOUL Magazine, we found a great idea for a Saturday activity: Canoeing in Chuncheon.

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

View Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기) in a larger map
While looking for new ideas for weekend activities, we stumbled across a company by the name of Mullegil (물레길), which offers one hour canoeing trips on Lake Uiam (의암호). This lake is located next to the city of Chuncheon (춘천) and was formed with building of the Uiam Damn on the North Han River (북한강).

After reading the article and heading over to Mullegil's homepage, we were able to reserve 4 canoes for 30,000 Won apiece. According to the information we obtained, the cost of two and three people using a canoe is 40,000 Won and 45,000 Won respectively. Since we didn't know exactly how many people were going to come on this trip, we just paid the 30,000 Won reservation fee and planned to pay the remainder when we got there. Luckily, when we finally went canoeing, they didn't charge us anything more other than the reservation fee which we had already paid.

While there are multiple ways to get to Chuncheon from Seoul, we opted to take the Seoul Metropolitan Subway since it is both convenient and quite a bit cheaper than the alternatives. Of course, the downside is that it does take a bit longer than the ITX train and the express bus, but the subway is still a reasonable mode of transportation for a day trip to Chuncheon.

As usually, when we head off for activities that are in the general direction of Chuncheon, we met up at Sangbong Station (상봉역) and took the Gyeongchun Line (경춘선). An hour and a half later, we were in Chuncheon. However, along the way we did meet some interesting people, including an elderly gentleman who can speak five languages.

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

Chuncheon is famous for being the birthplace of Dakgalbi (닭갈비), which is an inexpensive spicy stir fry of chicken and vegetables. This dish quickly became popular with soldiers and college students since they tend to be on a tight budget. While we didn't have the stereotypical stir fry of Dakgalbi at our restaurant, we did have some nice spicy grilled chicken.

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

After lunch, we walked back to the Chuncheon Station and caught some taxis down to the Chuncheon Sport Complex, where the Mullegil Canoe Tours is located. The last time we came here was for a High 1 ice hockey game during the winter. At that time, the buses weren't running down to the southern shore where the sports complex was located. During the summer, the buses are running more often (though not as often as buses do in Seoul), so there was a second option to get down sports complex.

When we got down to the sport complex, we had to get out of the taxi and walk the last part since there was a festival taking place there. While we didn't stay and watch too much, we saw that there were a lot of different competitions happening, including many extreme sports.

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

After taking a brief look at the different events, we made it over to the lake shore to start our canoeing trip. Before jumping into a canoe and paddling off, we had a short class on canoeing. Even though it was all in Korean, those of us with limited Korean language abilities were able to understand due to all of the visual aids. We learned how to get into the canoe, how to paddle and where to go during the excursion.

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

Shortly after, we were gearing up with paddles and life jackets and heading towards to the docks to get into our canoes. After a bit of trail and error, we grasped the basic concepts of steering a canoe and were able to head out to the open waters of the lake.

Once on the lake, it was quite an enjoyable experience. The lake was calm and the views of the mountains that lined the lake were amazing. We paddled south for about a mile (1.6km) towards the dam that forms the lake, turned around and headed back towards the docs. The weather was a bit hot, but a slight breeze helped us stay cool. A bit of splashing when we got too close to another boat with people from our group livened up the canoe trip also.

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

From Canoeing in Chuncheon (춘천에서 카누를 타기)

After returning to shore an hour later, we wandered back through the sports complex and looked at a couple of the competitions before starting our journey back home. Luckily, we were able to quickly catch one of the local buses to take us back to Chuncheon Station.

Overall, this trip was a nice change of pace to many of the summer activities that we had recently enjoyed in Saturdays in Korea. We were able to see a different part of Korea and try an activity that most of us were not very familiar with. Down the road, canoeing is definitely on our lists of activities to do again. However, even at the price of 30,000 Won, it does seem a bit expensive for a one hour trip up and down a lake.

Namiseom Island (남이섬)

Near the end of June and the beginning of July, the monsoon season (장마철) starts in Korea. Last Saturday, the summer rain started in Korea. Despite the moderate amount of rain that fell on that day, we enjoyed a wonderful trip to an island in the middle of the river east of Seoul called Namiseom (남이섬).

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

Contents

Namiseom Island

The Naminara Republic

Getting to Namiseom

Namiseom

The Han River (한강), which flows through Seoul, is the result of two tributaries to the east, the North Han River (북한강) and the South Han River (남한강). The North Han River starts in North Korea and flows southwest through the mountainous provinces of Gangwon-do (강원도) and Kyeonggi-do (경기도). In a section of the river that creates part of the border between Gangwo-do and Kyeonggi-do is an island by the name of Namiseom (남이섬).

Named after a famous general from the Joseon Dynasty (조선시대), Namiseom is well known for being a wonderfully designed and cared for park. While much of the island is covered in carefully placed mature trees, there is still a large variety of flora on the island. From open grass areas, ponds, gardens to rice paddies and farms, there are plenty of breathtaking scenes to see.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

What makes Namiseom especially popular are the long paths that are lined with tall straight trees. These iconic paths were made famous in a Korean Drama by the name of Winter Sonata (겨울연가). The basic plot line of this drama is about an endless love that cannot be due to some social or familial pressure. If this sounds familiar, it is same plot line of pretty much every modern Korean Drama made.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

One interesting thing to note is that much of the art work and statues are made of recycled material. You will find a lot of pieces that are made of the ubiquitous green soju bottles of Korea.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

Though not a highlight on any brochure for Namiseom, one fun activity on the island is to go down to the riverbank and try to skip stones across the river. You will be able to find plenty of flat, smooth rocks along the shore.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

The Republic of Namiseom

Though not officially recognized by the United Nations or any country in the world, this island is also referred to as the Naminara Republic. When you come to entrance to Namiseom, you will see a traditional Korean style gate stating that you are entering Immigrations for the Naminara Republic. Don't fret if you didn't bring your passport.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

The cost to get onto Namiseom is 10,000 Won for Korean citizens and 8,000 Won for international visitors. If you do have someone who is obviously from overseas in your group, you might want to send them ahead to buy all of the tickets for everyone. The cost of both tickets does include a round trip boat ride to and from the island.

A little ways from the ticket booth is the dock for the boat to Namiseom. The boat ride is a little bit less than 10 minutes each way. Since the boat unloads and takes on passengers fairly quickly, you won't be waiting that long to get to the island. The view of the North Han River and the surrounding mountains during the short boat ride is quite stunning, rain or shine.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

If a slow moving boat ride is not your cup of tea and you'd prefer a mode of transportation that provides an adrenaline rush, there is an alternative way to get on the island. Next to the entrance to Namiseom is a tall grey metal tower. Connecting from the top of the tower to the shores of Namiseom below is a zip wire that allows people to ride on a chair across the river. To get to Namiseom this way costs 38,000 Won and includes the return boat ride. Unfortunately for us, due to the weather, the zip wire was closed on the day we went.

If the zip wire is not enough of an extreme experience for you, there is also a place to bungee jump a little ways up river.

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

From Namiseom Island (남이섬)

Getting to Namiseom

Namiseom is located just a little bit southeast of the town of Gapyeong (가평). Luckily, the local station, Gapyeong Station (가평역), is apart of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway System. Because of this, you can take a subway from downtown Seoul to Gapyeong for about 2,500 Won.

A good place to meet friends before traveling all the way out to Gapyeong is Sangbong Station (상봉역). Sangbong Station is the starting point for the Gyeongchun Line (경춘선) which goes out to Gapyeong. This station is also a nice place to meet since it is the transfer point for Line #7, which goes to Gangnam (강남) and the Jungang Line (중앙선), which goes to Yongsan Station (용산역). When meeting in Sangbong Station, the Storyway Convenience Store is a good meeting place due to its central location.

From Lake Homyeong (호명호수)

Once you arrive at Gapyeong Station, there are a couple of choices on how to get to the entrance of Namiseom. While it is possible to take a bus, the buses don't run that often around here in the countryside. You might get lucky and catch a bus right away, while other times you might have to wait over an hour. Since there is a taxi station next to the entrance of the station, taking a short taxi ride to the entrance of Namiseom will probably be your fastest (most likely your cheapest) option. Just tell the taxi driver Namiseom and they will know exactly where to go. If you want to be a bit politer and practice your Korean, you can always say, "남이섬입구로 가 주세요." (Please take us to the entrance of Namiseom.)


View Namiseom Island (남이섬) in a larger map


Even with the rain, we had a wonderful time on our trip to Namiseom. The amount of time and energy that is put into designing and taking care of this island is amazing. I am looking forward to going back to Namiseom many times to see all of the spectacular scenery in the different seasons.