Nami Island gathered 2.3 million visitors in 2011

Nami Island in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do (Gangwon Province), where the Korean wave is said to have originated, recorded its highest number of visitors this year. The number of visitors reached 2.2 million, 18% of which were foreigners, or around 400,000 people.

Analyzed by the nationalities of visitors, Thai tourists took up the largest proportion, recording 140,000, Taiwan came in next at 85,000, and Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan followed at 45,000, 40,000, 20,000, 17,000, and 12,000 respectively. Nami Island also saw around 10,000 people each from Hong Hong, Vietnam, and the Philippines, as well as 2,000 people from the U.S. Visitors from a total of 103 different countries were estimated to have stopped by the island. (Above picture: Metasequoia trail (Photo courtesy of Nami Island)

The biggest reason for the popularity of Nami Island was the reconstruction of the Gyeongchun Rail Line connecting Chuncheon to Seoul. In fact, the number of train passengers rose up four times since the rail line opened in December last year. The number of train passengers from its opening to November this year reached 4.37 million, meaning 3.8 times higher than the figures recorded the same period (January - November) of the previous year which was 1.15 million. In light of the gradually increasing public interest, Chuncheon plans to run express train at speeds of 180 kilometer in the New Year.

Nami Island captured the attention of viewers as the pictoresque backdrop for the drama "Winter Sonata", and continues to draw visitors ever since (Photo courtesy of Nami Island).

The explosive interest in Nami Island was largely influenced by the Hallyu drama Winter Sonata. Two widely known spots from the drama include the Metasequoia Trail where the main characters rode bicycles together and the benches they sat on to make mini-snowmen, both places which are always crowded. Workers on Nami Island made an un-meltable snowman sculpture similar to the one featured in the drama on the bench so that visitors can follow what the characters did in the scene.

The annual festivals of the island (Photo courtesy of Nami Island)

Moreover, festivals created with fresh ideas made a big contribution to its development. The International Children's Book Festival, which was launched in 2005 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Andersen, collected children's books from all across the world. There is also a cultural festival in which foreign ambassadors in Korea gather to teach folk songs and dances and share the culture of their countries.

The Republic of Naminara (Photo courtesy of Nami Island)

The creation of the Republic of Naminara, an imaginary micronation, is also one of the major factors that attracted visitors. Declaring its cultural independence on March 1, 2006, the region runs its own unique cultural and diplomatic policies. It also has its own national flag, anthem, passport, and telephone cards like other nations.

"About half of the visitors taking the bus from Insadong to get here are foreigners and we expect more development of the island", said one of the staff members at Nami Island.

By Lee Seung-ah
Korea.net Staff Writer