Namiseom or Nami Island ( ko, 남이섬) is a half-moon shaped
river island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...
located in
Chuncheon
Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...
,
Gangwon Province, South Korea
Gangwon Province is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. It is bound on the east by the Sea of Japan, and borders Gyeonggi Province to its west, North Gyeongsang Province and North Chungcheong Province to its south, and th ...
, formed as the land around it was inundated by the rising water of the North
Han River as the result of the construction of
Cheongpyeong Dam
Cheongpyeong Dam () is a dam located in Gyeonggi Province. The dam is located above sea level, about from Seoul.
Located on the Bukhan River in the southwest of Gapyeong County, it was built in 1943 as the Cheongpyeong hydroelectric power pla ...
in 1944.
Etymology
The name of the island originates from General Nami, who died at the age of 28 after being falsely accused of treason during the reign of
King Sejo
Sejo of Joseon (2 November 1417 – 23 September 1468), personal name Yi Yu (Korean: 이유; Hanja: 李瑈), sometimes known as Grand Prince Suyang (Korean: 수양대군; Hanja: 首陽大君), was the seventh ruler of the Joseon dynasty of K ...
, the seventh king of the
Joseon Dynasty
Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
of Korea.
Although his grave was not 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
Namiseom is located from
Gapyeong County
Gapyeong County is a county in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was the scene of the Battle of Kapyong, a major battle of the Korean War.
Administrative Region and Language
Gapyeong County has one eup and five myeon, and its population i ...
, but belongs to
Chuncheon
Chuncheon (; ; formerly romanized as Chunchŏn; literally ''spring river'') is the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea. The city lies in the north of the county, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River. There are some ...
in
Gangwon Province. It is in area and approximately in diameter.
History
Min Byeong-do bought the island in 1965, and after that, in 1966, when Gyeongchun Tourism Development Co., Ltd. was established, it began to be developed as a general resort. In April 2000, Gyeongchun Tourism Development changed its name to Nami Island Co., Ltd.
In 2002, the area around Nami Island became the filming stage for the
Korean Broadcasting System
The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters.
KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...
TV drama ''
Winter Sonata
''Winter Sonata'' () is a 2002 South Korean television drama series, starring Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo. It is the second part of the season-themed tetralogy '' Endless Love'' drama series directed by Yoon Seok-ho. Filming primarily took pl ...
'', and the number of
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
tourists visiting Nami increased significantly.
Naminara Republic
Namiseom is home to the Naminara Republic, a self-declared micronation described as "a tourist destination that advocates the concept of a nation." On 20 July 2018, a retired
M48 Patton
The M48 Patton is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#First generation, first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M2 ...
tank was received from the
Republic of Korea Armed Forces
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of ...
.
Gallery
Image:Naminara Island.jpg,
Image : Winter Sonata Nami Island.jpg
Image: 남이섬 (2).JPG
Image: 남이섬 (4).JPG
Image: 남이섬 (11).JPG
Image: 남이섬 (17).JPG
References
1944 establishments in Korea
1966 establishments in South Korea
Islands of Gangwon Province, South Korea
Tourist attractions in Gangwon Province, South Korea
Private islands of South Korea
River islands of South Korea
Islands of the Han River (Korea)
Chuncheon
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