Namiseom

Namiseom
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Namiseom
McCune–Reischauer	Namisŏm

Namisum is a tiny half-moon shaped island located in Chuncheon, South Korea, formed as it was inundated by the rising water of the North Han River as the result of the construction of Cheongpyeong Dam (청평댐) in 1944. Its name originated from General Nami (남이장군), who died at the age of 28 after being falsely accused of treason during the reign of King Sejo, the seventh king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. Although his grave was not discovered, there were a pile of stones where his body was supposed to be buried. It was believed that if someone took even one stone from there, it would bring misfortune to their house. A tour company arranged the grave with soil and then developed Namisum into an amusement park.

Namisum is located 3.8 km from Gapyeong County, but belongs to Chuncheon in Gangwon-do. It is 430,000 square meters in area and approximately 4 km in diameter

In 1965, Nami Island was purchased by Mr. Minn Byeong-do (1916-2006), who had recently resigned from the post of governor of the Bank of Korea and desired to spend the rest of his life in nature. His love and dedication turned a desolate piece of land with only few scattered chestnut trees, poplar trees, and mulberry trees on the fringes of a small peanut farm into the beautifully cultivated Nami Island we see today. Mr. Minn had also served as the governor of Cheil Bank, chairman of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, chief director of the educational foundation Huimun euisuk. In the late 1960s, he became the very close friend of the owner of Chollipo Arboretum Carl Ferris Miller (Korean Name: Minn Byeong-gal). The two "Minns" brothers almost had what amounted to a competition to see who could plant the most trees. Mr. Minn founded Gyeongchun Tourism Development, Inc. in 1966 and worked on his master plan the "Overall Development of the Leisure and Tourism Industry" by cultivating plants and building a golf course. He never forgot his motto which was "green trees and clean rivers are what we own and need to take good care for future generations." He also ran the Hangyerong Rest Area in Mt. Sorak and Nammun Duty Free in Namdaemun in Seoul. Mr. Minn was born in Gyongwun-dong, Seoul in 1916 and graduated from Gyodong Elementary School and Gyeonggi Middle and High School in Seoul and the law school of Gejoh University in Japan. Along with Jung Jin-Suk, Yun Suk-jung, and Jo Pung-Youn he founded Eulyu Munhwasa which was the very first publishing house in Korea. Mr. Minn, who was also fascinated by music, founded the first symphony orchestra in Korea - Goryo Symphony Orchestra - together with Hyon Je-myong and Gye Jung-sick. He published the literary magazine Sessak with Yun Suk-jung and supported various cultural activities in the fields of music, children's songs and literature. "Create new things and share them with world." By playing host to a variety of cultural events, today's Nami Island has succeeded in carrying out Mr. Minn's desire to "purify the human mind through the unification of nature and culture."

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