Chuncheon

The island belongs to Chuncheon, but the ferry leaves from the Gapyeong pier across the river. The metasequoia avenue from the 2002 drama Winter Sonata is the famous part, and ostriches and squirrels often wander by. A zip-wire is an alternative to the boat.

An earth-and-rock-fill dam completed in 1973, the largest multipurpose dam in Korea. You can walk across the road along its crest. Boats to Cheongpyeongsa leave from the pier on the lake side, so most visitors combine the two.

A temple reached by boat across Soyang Lake, then a walk of about 30 minutes up the valley. On the way are Guseong Falls and a pagoda tied to the tale of a Tang princess and the lovesick snake that followed her. Check the last return boat as you land.

A glass-floored viewing bridge reaching out over the Soyang River; you pull on overshoes at the entrance. From the end you see the water straight below your feet. A big mandarin fish sculpture stands in the river beside the entrance and gets into most photos.

Opened in 2021, it runs 3.61km across Uiam Lake to the flank of Samaksan. Some cabins have clear floors, and a long stretch passes over the water. The deck at the upper station looks over central Chuncheon and the lake together.

In Sille, birthplace of Kim Yu-jeong, author of Spring, Spring and Camellias, his house has been rebuilt beside a memorial hall. Gimyujeong Station in front became Korea's first station named after a person in 2004. A path links places from the stories.

A Lego theme park opened in 2022 on Hajungdo, an island in Uiam Lake. During construction, Bronze Age house sites and dolmens turned up in large numbers, setting off a long argument over building versus preserving. Most rides are sized for children.

A waterfall on the slopes of Bonghwasan at Gangchon, about 20 minutes' walk up the valley from the car park. It is named for nine bends the stream supposedly makes on the way down. In midwinter the whole fall freezes and ice climbers hang from it.

Pedal carts run on the old track left idle when the double-tracked Gyeongchun Line opened in 2010. Starting from Gimyujeong Station, the run down along the Bukhan River is the breezy part. Weekend tickets sell out early, so book ahead.

Known for a hall of arhat statues from the Changnyeongsa temple site in Yeongwol, each lit on its own in a dark room. Every face is different: smiling, dozing, frowning. It is a bus ride from the centre and never crowded.

A five-day market on dates ending in 2 or 7, its stalls running some 700m in the shade under the elevated railway near Namchuncheon Station. Trains rumble overhead as you eat buckwheat crepes and makgeolli. On weekend market days, parking is hard by morning.

An arboretum in Namsan-myeon modelled on European gardens, with Tuscan-style buildings and themed plots climbing the slope. It became known as a backdrop for several TV dramas. The grade is steep; the climb to the top viewpoint takes a good 30 minutes.

A series of falls dropping through a narrow gorge at the western entrance to Samaksan. The first fall is a few minutes past the ticket booth, and iron stairs above it carry the trail on to the summit. It is near Gangchon Station on the Gyeongchun Line.

An animation museum by Uiam Lake's western shore, with a hands-on robot hall attached where you can touch and steer machines. Old cel drawings and camera gear are on show. The lakeside cycle path runs past the door, so plenty arrive by bike.

Opened in 1996 below Chungnyeongsan in Gapyeong, west of Chuncheon, with over twenty themed gardens built on Korean garden ideas. In winter the grounds are wrapped in bulbs for a light festival, and nights outdraw days. Many pair it with Nami Island.