Theme Road

The Dancing Star Within Me

Around This Time of the Year Chuncheon

In my youthful days, Chuncheon was a place I often visited. Looking back, I was filled with passion and energy I didn’t fully understand. “Someday it will be gone. This verdant youth. Like petals that wither and bloom again…” My youth, too, has flown away as in the lyrics of this popular song. Yet today’s young people are leaving their footprints where mine once lingered. Quietly, I stepped in among them, matching my stride. It felt as though the energy and passion of youth were quietly passing over to me.

Text & Photo by. Woon-seok Lim, Travel Writer
Unstoppable, Ever-Renewing Energy
Until the early 2000s, Chuncheon was a popular MT (membership training, team-building group retreat) destination for university students. Every year, tens of thousands of students flocked to Chuncheon to unleash and burn their youthful energy. Back then, the hottest spot in Chuncheon was Gangchon with Gangchon Station at its center. Although now transformed into a cultural space, the station was once packed with students carrying iceboxes, backpacks, and boxes of instant noodles. In those days when cell phones were a luxury, students communicated through pagers so public phone booths were always lined with people.
Gangchon Sang-sang Station is connected to Kim Yu-jeong Station by rail bikes. With both the old station and the new station building standing 200 meters apart, Kim Yu-jeong Station first opened in 1939 as Sinnam Station. It was renamed in 2004 to honor novelist Kim Yu-jeong, becoming the first train station in Korea named after a person. With the opening of the new Gyeongchun Line commuter train in 2010, however, the old station closed its doors, keeping its memories intact. Today, the old station has been reborn as a retro cultural space that draws many visitors.
“Do you remember this place? It’s the station where we got off during our freshman summer MT trip to Chuncheon.” “It feels like nothing has changed.” A couple in their 40s, who met as university students and later married, reminisced about those youthful days as they enjoyed a trip down memory lane together.
Inside the old Kim Yu-jeong Station, daily items from the 1990s to the 2000s were on display. They carried the weight of passing years: cassette tapes stretched from being replayed endlessly, comic books devoured without noticing how time flies, videotapes secretly watched with friends when parents were away. Also featured were old photos, worn station service tools and items, pagers, and 2G phones. Outside the station, a Mugunghwa train car has been turned into a book café and tourist information center. Sitting idly in the car leafing through an old album, one could gaze down the long railway and feel a faint, almost forgotten nostalgia rise from deep within.
Travel TIP

Around the old Kim Yu-jeong Station platform, visitors will find numerous photo zones with witty captions like “The rainbow you were struggling to find was you all along,” and they are perfect for taking fun, staged shots. If time allows, a visit to the Kim Yu-jeong Literature Village a mere 300 meters away on foot is strongly recommended. There, you can explore the life and works of the novelist who lived a short but passionate life. The village includes his birthplace and the Kim Yu-jeong Story House, inspired by his short story “Spring, Spring.”

  • Kim Yu-jeong Station
  • Address 1435, Kim Yu-jeong-ro, Sindong-myeon, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province
A Place Where Dopamine and Adrenaline Explode
Heading south along Bukhangang River, I arrived in Namchon-myeon. The river here is never still, filled with numerous water leisure companies. Among them was Speed Zone, where visitors can enjoy water sports, go-karting, and ATVs all in one place.
With a roar, the motorboat raced ahead. The waterskier tethered to it cut through the waves, leaving behind a frothy trail like whipped cream. From the banana boat bouncing playfully over the water, shrieks of laughter and excitement never ceased. It all seemed like a serenade celebrating the joy of being alive. Upon hearing that even beginners could quickly join after a short lesson, I gathered the courage to try waterskiing and wakeboarding.
All that was needed was strength to stay upright on the water—and passion. The wakeboarding lesson began on land. Sitting in a squat position while holding the rope, I felt the instructor pull. With the right tension, I tightened my core, straightened my upper body, and maintained a horse-riding stance. This is all I needed to do. After repeating this drill several times, I finally entered the water to apply what I had learned. Then came the real moment.
As the boat driver shouted, “We’re starting,” my heart pounded wildly. The motorboat surged forward, the rope tightened, and my body naturally fell into the practiced stance. I succeeded on the first try, and as the boat created waves, I managed to continue riding. “I can’t believe I’m really doing this!” With just a spoonful of passion, I had discovered a whole new world.
If wakeboarding feels too daunting, try banana boating or other water sports. Strap on a life jacket, climb aboard, and just hang on for dear life. It may seem simple, but the rush that follows is indescribable. The surge of dopamine and adrenaline will make you feel like you’ve touched heaven. Afterward, I also enjoyed go-karting and riding ATVs. The kart track was impressively large—655 meters long with 10 curves. The karts—the same models used by European racers for practice—reached speeds up to 50 km/h. Because they were low to the ground and open, the sense of speed felt twice as fast. However, ATVs could only be driven by those with a driver’s license.
Speed Zone
  • Address 373, Bangha-ro, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province
  • Phone +82-33-261-8810
Nami Island: A Harmony of Nature and Humanity
From the dock across the river, Nami Island shimmered with lush greenery. After a mere five-minute boat ride, I arrived on the islet. With the rainy season about to end, trees heavy with moisture gave off fresh vitality. Paths lined with tall, straight trees, vast areas of lawns, songs of unknown birds, ostriches and peacocks unafraid of humans, and many sculptures and buildings scattered throughout all blended together like family.
From the central Pine Avenue, numerous side paths branched off, each leading to a new world. Among them, Metasequoia Road was especially striking. This was the path featured in the drama Winter Sonata, which brought international tourists to Nami Island. More than 20 years have passed, but its popularity continues to this day. There are many ways to enjoy Nami Island: taking a peaceful walk to be closer to nature, riding a bicycle with the wind in your face, or—for a more comfortable option—touring in an electric car.
In summer, the most popular spot is the forest-surrounded outdoor pool, the “Water Garden.” This healing space in nature had another unique quality: it used eco-friendly renewable energy to operate heated pools, reflecting Nami Island’s harmony with the environment. With pools of varying depths and temperatures including cube pools and kids’ pools as well as cabanas and sunbeds under the shade of trees, visitors could enjoy a refreshing, leisurely summer.
On that summer visit, Nami Island overflowed with passion as bright as the blazing sun. Young people laughed for no reason, reacting with exaggerated joy. That, I realized, was the charm and privilege of youth. Being among them, I, too, discovered the star dancing within me. In his poem Youth, Samuel Ullman wrote: “Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is not rosy cheeks, red lips, and supple knees. It is a matter of will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of emotions.”
Nami Island Comprehensive Resort Dock
  • Address 145-2, Daljeon-ri, Gapyeong-eup, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
  • Phone +82-507-1311-8114