Nami Island

By Brandan Tang, Foster Undergraduate who participated in an exchange with Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to Nami Island, a small island roughly 2 hours away from Seoul. I was fortunate to get a ride with a friend, Lily, who I met at the University Washington when she was a study abroad student there! We were accompanied by two friends I met at my dorm, SK global, as well as her parents.

Nami island is a small island that became famous in the early 2000s due to a famous Korean Drama called Winter Sonata. Korean dramas are extremely popular within Korea and even have developed an international audience in recent years. Despite being small in size, the island was packed with Koreans, as it is apparently a huge photograph spot this time of year. When we got off the ferry I was able to see leaves of all different colors and quickly understand why it was a popular place. Additionally there were a lot of statues of snowmen, which was a big symbol throughout Winter Sonata.

On the island we were able to do a variety of activities such as riding tandem bikes, walking on bridges along the coast, and of course taking many pictures. Midway through the day, Lily’s parents treated us to the traditional Korean dish dak galbi which is a stir friend marinated chicken mixed with a variety of vegetables and sauce. We ate this meal in a traditional Korean floor mat setting and it was beyond delicious! After lunch we were able to walk around more and just observe the nature that the island presented.

If you are in Korea for an extended period of time I would recommend that you check out Nami island. It is a little bit of a hassle without a car, especially if you don’t know Korean, but it is worth the day trip. I think that this area tailors really well to couples, but I guarantee that there are enough things to do and see to make your experience worthwhile!

 

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