Autumn in Korea means crisp mornings, hopping from coffee shop to coffee shop, admiring the impeccable Korean fall outfits, but most importantly, it means breathtaking hues of red, oranges, and yellows all throughout the country, however, if you do not want to go far from Seoul, autumn in Nami Island will undoubtedly fulfill all your fall dreams.
Autumn in Nami Island is one of the most beautiful views to witness, with wild rabbits hopping around unimpressed by the human visitors, squirrels jumping into piles of colorful fallen leaves, and lines of bright yellow Ginko trees decorating the island, the landscape is just magical.
What is Nami Island?
Nami Island, also known as Naminara Republic, is a small river island in South Korea that declared its cultural independence from the Republic of Korea in 2006.
The island focuses on celebrating imagination and welcoming visitors into its fairytale micronation.
Even though Nami Island has declared itself independent from Korea, you do not need to bring your passport or an actual visa to get in, but more on that later.
How to get to Nami Island?
Even though Google Maps is not very effective in Korea for finding places, you can still use them to get to places.
We followed the instructions of taking the metro at Cheongnyangni station up until Gapyeong Station, and then you could either take a bus, a taxi, or like us, just walk down to Nami Island Wharf.
Google Maps doesn’t mention how long the walk would take but I remember it taking us between 20 to 30 minutes.
Is there an entrance fee to Nami Island?
Yes, at the Nami Island wharf, you will need to pay a “visa fee” of 16,000 won, around 12 USD, which includes the admission ticket to the island and the round-trip ferry ride.
The ferries go every 10-20 minutes, with the trip being only about 5 min to and from the island, the first ferry leaving at 8 am and the last one returning at 9 pm.
For more details on the ferry ride to Nami Island make sure to double-check their official website.
Weather in Seoul in October
October in Seoul can be full of surprises when it comes to the temperature, and Nami Island is close enough that it has a similar temperature as Seoul, ranging from around 9 degrees Celsius to 19 degrees, so I would recommend packing layers, thin but warm layers, and maybe a light coat or puffer jacket for those lower temperatures, but as always, it really depends on the year.
We visited Nami Island on November 1st and we inexplicably had super comfortable weather, around 21 degrees Celsius, I was fine with a t-shirt and a cardigan, but the temperature can really drop from one day to the other, so I would recommend having some warm layers at hand during your trip to Seoul in autumn.
What to do in Nami Island?
One of the main attractions, and most famous views of autumn in Nami Island, has to be the vibrant yellow Ginko trees that line the center of the island, so admiring these eyecatching trees is definitely top of the list, together with just promenading around the island to enjoy the stunning bright colors of the season.
Besides providing one of the most gorgeous views of autumn in Korea, there are also plenty of things to do on Nami Island, such as renting a pedal or rowing boat on the lake, renting a bicycle to explore the island (takes about an hour to go all around it on bike), you can even zip line into the island instead of taking the ferry, and if you would like to experience the colorful Nami Island for longer than a day you can stay at the only hotel on the island, Hotel Jeonggwanru.
If like us you just want to go and admire the autumn colors, you can buy some snacks at a convenience store by the train station and picnic on a bench surrounded by colorful trees and cute island creatures.
The best time to visit Nami Island
While I am sure that Nami Island is still charming and magical year-round, I cannot imagine it ever being more beautiful than it is in autumn.
It’s hard to get the perfect timing for the fall foliage to be at its peak, but mid-October to the first week of November should be when it is at its brightest.
We visited on the 1st of November and sadly the Ginko trees had already lost their leaves but the rest of the island was still dressed in reds and oranges, and the Ginko leaves decorated the floor, so we were not too mad about it, it was still beautiful.
Nami Island is without a doubt one of the best places to experience autumn in Korea and an absolute must if you are visiting Seoul in autumn.
Hope this helps you better plan your trip to this fairytale island, please let me know if you have any questions you think I should answer in the post to keep it as useful as possible. Have you been to Korea before? Is it in your plans?