Gapyeong, the Getaway City

Bringing you another popular city to visit for an outing, I present to you, Gapyeong! Gapyeong is a town known for its natural environment and is a hotspot for a weekend getaway and a tourist attraction. Famous for its pine nuts and where it even holds the National Makgeolli Festival annually, Gapyeong is a popular spot for a weekend getaway from Seoul. It’s not too far but still fully capable of giving you a great escape from the bustling city of Seoul 🚗 People often go there for 2 days, 1 night, have accommodation by the lake and enjoy a BBQ as a short relaxing trip with friends or family.

AMAZON WATER

One of the most popular things to do and reasons to visit Gapyeong is for its water leisure activities! 🚤💦  A part of the Han River runs through Gapyeong, making it a water activity hotspot, especially in the summer seasons! Numerous inflated water parks and water sports are up and running, perfect for those looking to escape from the summer heat, or those who enjoy water sports in general. You can have heaps of thrills and fun on the water at these sites with inflated courses, obstacles, as well as water activities such as wakeboarding, water skiing, flyboarding (the cool device that can turn you into Iron Man over water), jet boat rides and various towables like the flying boat, banana boat and the twister. See for yourself how fun these can be by watching some of your favourite K-pop idols enjoy their time at these water parks too! (BTS, Big Bang, TREASURE)

WALK WITH CHAM

Though Gapyeong is famous for its local environmental beauty, you can also find the beauty of Europe amidst the heaps of mountains of Gangwon, being the home to theme parks Petite France and Italia Village Pinocchio & Davinchi. Petite France is a French cultural village inspired by ‘The Little Prince’ story by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. It is full of vibrant and pastel-coloured French-styled buildings where you can experience traditional French architecture, food, lifestyle, music and culture 🇫🇷  Many famous k-dramas such as ‘Secret Garden’, ‘My Love from the Star’ and the variety show ‘Running Man’ featured filming here. Right next to this picturesque French Village is Italia Village Pinocchio & Davinchi - the only Italian-themed park in Korea 🇮🇹 A village of buildings inspired by Tuscany of Italy, its purpose of bringing ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ to life and also honours the works of Leonardo da Vinci. From puppet shows and countless Pinocchio statues throughout the village and various antique galleries to the Da Vinci Exhibition Hall, it is brimming with youthful joy and creativity to see. With these locations, it’s mini Europe right in the heart of Gapyeong!

VISIT KOREA

If a trip down to childhood fairytale land is not for you, you can bask in the beauty of a collection of floral arrangements and landscaped gardens created in harmony with the backdrop of Chungryeongsan Mountain. The Garden of Morning Calm is a botanical garden inspired by Korea’s nickname of ‘The Land of the Morning Sun’, which showcases the natural beauty of Korea with over 5,000 kinds of plants and over 20 themed gardens. It is a beautiful garden that can be enjoyed in all seasons 🌳⛲️🌷🌺 Whether it is for the full bloom in Spring or for its popular annual display of breathtaking lights decorated all throughout the gardens in winter, each season offers The Garden of Morning Calm a different charm to experience.

TRIP.COM

If you watch your idol's reality shows, then you’ve most likely actually seen Gapyeong before without even realising it! It is such a popular getaway spot where you can experience the beauty of nature to the action-packed water activities for calmness or extreme thrill. It also makes a short yet spectacular escape from the bustling and hustling city life making Gapyeong the place to visit during Korea’s summer!