Kitty Mak
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Going Here and There in S. Korea
ChunCheon City (春川市/춘천시) - Jul 12, 2003
before leaving
donghae station
breakfast
chuam beach
mureung valley
homestay
breakfast again
GANGNEUNG
From Donghae
Train Station
Tourist Office
O Juk Heon
GyeongPoDae
Gangneung Tofu
CHUNCHEON
before leaving
gapyeong bus
nami island
so yang dam
famous food
BUSAN & KYEONGJU
pictures only
This trip was accompanied with a Chinese friend from Shenyang (瀋陽). We made the decision to visit ChunCheon just the afternoon before the day we set off. We wanted to go there by train for both ways. However the ticket in the morning were all sold out. Therefore, we ended up with going ChunCheon by Express Bus and returning Seoul by Train.
The Express Bus station is at Gangbyeon Subway Station [Line 2 No.214] (江邊 / 강변). The Info Office in the Express Bus station advised us that the most famous island in ChunCheon is Nami Island, where the Korean Drama 'Winter Sonata' was shot. For going there, instead of going directly to ChunCheon station, we should get off a few stations earlier, which is Gapyeong Station (加平 / 가평). The bus fare for going there is KRW4,500. While the train fare from Chuncheon to Seoul is KRW5,200.
GAPYEONG BUS STATION
We took 8:35am bus to go to Gapyeong from Seoul. They have at least one bus going there each hour. The bus took around 1hr and 45mins to reach there. Based on the instruction of the officer in the Express Bus Station, we took the City Bus to the Pier of Nam-I Island. There is only 1 bus in each hour for going there. The bus fare is KRW800. The bus from Gapyeong Bus Station to the Pier of Nami Island took around 10 minutes. Almost everyone on the bus got off at the same station
NAMI ISLAND (南怡島 / 남이섬)
This is one of the highlight visiting spots in ChunCheon especially after the Korean Drama 'Winter Sonata' was released. The entrance fee is KRW5,000. It includes returned ferry, visit of the Island, and guiding materials of the Island. The ferry took around 5 minutes to get to the Island. It is a peaceful green area with tall neatly arranged trees. Bicycle Rental is provided. KRW3000/30 minutes or KRW5000/1 hr for the Single Person used ones. KRW6,000/30minutes or KRW10,000/1 hr for the Two Person used ones.
There is a restaurant providing Traditional Korean Lunch Box. The restaurant had numerous pictures and signatures of the Korean Artists who had visited there.
Based on the guiding materials, we finished travelling around the Island by around 1:30pm.
SO YANG DAM (昭陽壩 / 소양댐)
We took taxi (around KRW3,000) back to the GaPyeong Bus Station and headed to ChunCheon. The Express Bus for going to ChunCheon from GaPyeong is KRW1,800. It took around 30 minutes to go there. It was already around 3:30pm when we reached ChunCheon Express Bus Station. We sought the advice from the Info Office in the Express Bus Station, and decided to visit So Yang Dam 昭陽壩 / 소양댐. The bus station for the bus going to So Yang Dam is just across the Express Bus Station. We had waited for around 45 minutes before the bus came (and we were so lucky that we met a Korean girl who took the same bus and taught us in detail again of how to get there). It took about 30 minutes to reach So Yang Dam.
As a result of the construction of the Soyang Dam, Soyangho Lake was created. It is so big that Koreans sometimes compares it to an inland sea.
Around the Lake area, there were a lot of street vendors selling Korean local food. In addition, there are ferries for going to the other side of the lake, the trip for going to the other side shall last around 2 hours or 3 to 4 hours if you would like to climb the mountain over there as well. Unfortunately, we missed the last ferry which set off at 5:00pm.
As it took a long time for bus waiting, you must check the bus schedule before starting your sightseeing there. If you miss the bus, it may take an hour for the next one to come.
We left the Dam by taking the 6:20pm bus. The bus fare was KRW1,200. It took us all the way back to the Chuncheon Train Station.
CHUNCHEON FAMOUS FOOD
We had the famous Barbecued Chicken (닭갈비 ) and Buckwheat Cold Noodles ( 막국수) in the restaurant next to the Chuncheon Train Station. They are unexpectedly delicious. And the price is very reasonable. KRW8,000 for barbecued chicken and KRW4000 for Buckwheat Cold Noodles.
CHUNCHEON TRAIN STATION
We took the 20:05 train back to Seoul as scheduled. It was around 21:50 when we reached Seoul. The day was well spent!
Bus Ticket - Seoul to GaPyeong KRW4,500
Train Tkt - Chuncheon
to Seoul KRW5,200
Nami Island
So Yang Dam
Barbecued Chicken KRW8,000
