Nami Island Adventures

Saturday was a much anticipated day as it marked the first major group outing: a trip to Nami Island (남이섬).

Nami Island is a well-known location in Korea, noted for the island's beauty which has been featured in famous media and film (Notably "Winter Sonata", which was responsible for a massive uptick in tourism to the island after its popularity in the early 2000s). The island's vast diversity and amount of vegetation provides wonderful shade to relax and explore in, and being surrounded by water means that a gentle breeze can easily be found throughout the area. 

Our group disembarked from the mainland and enjoyed the short ferry ride over to the island, with mountains surrounding the river and a vast blue sky. Upon arriving we took a short walk to a local restaurant, where everyone enjoyed dalkalbi (닭갈비), a dish commonly enjoyed in Korea that is best described as "spicy stir-fried chicken". The meal also included Jeon (전), a sort of pancake style dish where various ingredients can be included, with this particular dish being 해물전 (Haemuljeon: sea food jeon). 

After finishing up dinner, most of the group was excited to get on the bikes you can easily rent on the island. These bikes really give new breath to exploration as the gentle breeze and mobility are easy to appreciate during the hot summer weather. The island has been well-developed so biking is both safe and comfortable. The students had many hours to explore the island, sightsee, and enjoy the local music (there was a world music festival ongoing during our visit), shops, and cafes.

Overall, the adventurous part of the day came to an end as we regrouped near the dock and took the ferry, tour bus, and train back to Seoul. Unwinding with dinner and relaxing was a perfect end to a long day, and we're really thankful that the weather was so clear during a time when rain can roll in so often!