Monday, October 24, 2011

Namwon 남원

What a fitting emblem for a city of love!

Nawon, the City of Love.
It's the famous city where the love story of Chunhyang is set in. The story is a bout a maiden named Chunhyang who is love with a young man. While her love is away on government affairs, she is taken advantage of by an immoral local governer who tries to force her to marry him. When the young man returns and sees what is happening, he disguises as a commoner, who witnesses the injustices that are happening to the people because of that bad governer. In the end, the young man kills the governer and is able to restore peace and harmony in the city, and also marries his maiden. A happy ending, is it not?

Namwon is a small city located just outside of Jirisan National Park, and is also just three hours away from Seoul. Every year, the city celebrates the four-day festival of the Chunhyang Festival. It is claimed to be the oldest festival in Korea. There are many sights and places around the city which pays tribute to the love story. An example is one of the most beautiful gardens in the southwestern region of Korea called Gwanghallu-won Gardens. Apparently the garden is made of three small isles, which are connected by three bridges. Furthermore, it is said that if couples cross through this bridge every year, they will have a happy marriage. So romantic, isn't it? I will try to get my boyfriend to take me here. <3

Gwanghallu-won Garden

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