Eric and Stephanie's Korean Adventure: Namiseom

Friday was a holiday in Korea so we had the day off! It was Independence Movement Day, a national holiday to celebrate one of the first times Korean resistance occurred during Japan's occupation of Korea in the early 1900's. Since everyone had the day off, a couple of my friends and I decided to venture outside of Seoul to Gangwon-do province. The Han River runs into Gangwon-do and is known as Bukhangang (North Han River) In the middle of the Bukhangang, 67 kilometers away from Seoul, is a small, half moon shaped island called Namiseom. It was named after General Nami who led a great victory during King Sejo's reign of the Joseon Dynasty in the 1400's. General Nami was killed when he was only 25 years old and his grave site is on Namiseom. We had to take the subway for a while and then a short ferry ride to the island (foreigners got a discount on the ferry ticket!). Although it was a little bit windy and chilly, it was a beautiful day with the sun and we spent a few hours walking around the whole island enjoying the fresh air. There are a lot of trees on the island also. They were all tall and some were even green pine trees and it almost seemed like home! The island is actually a popular filming location for some Korean dramas and movies. I think the island will be even more beautiful in the spring/summer/fall so I would definitely like to go back again as the weather warms up and more flowers will be blooming. It was clear enough that we could even see some of the mountains in North Korea. The island is also located close to the city of Chuncheon which is where dakgalbi (Korean spicy chicken) first started. Before we headed over to the island we stopped at a Korean restaurant for lunch. We had spicy chicken, similar to what is used for dakgalbi (spicy chicken stir fry). I will be uploading my many pictures soon, but here are just a few...