On Nami Island, it’s summertime this weekend

For those who don’t have parties to go to or family to visit on New Year’s Eve, why not a swimwear fashion show?
A five-day “summer festival,” whose highlights will include live music and an outdoor barbecue as well as the latest in Australian swimsuits, starts tonight on Nami Island off Chuncheon city in Gangwon province, a 90-minute drive from Seoul.
Nami island has become a popular tourist spot thanks to “Winter Sonata,” the Korean TV drama starring Bae Yong-joon (known as “Yonsama” in Japan) that was partially filmed there.
Fans of the show have flocked to the island from Japan, China and elsewhere in Asia, and this festival, organized by the Australian Embassy, the Song Island Foundation and the Korean Committee for Unicef, is an attempt to build on the island’s new popularity.
To make it feel at least a little bit like summer, there will be bonfires, Australian beef barbecue served outdoors and a seafood buffet.
Each day will also feature live performances by Australian artists such as Chrome, storyteller and didgeridoo player Mark Atkin, and jazz band Tuxedo Junction, as well as Kim Hye-lim, a Korean traditional music performer. There will also be performances by Australian aborigines.
The swimwear fashion show, alas, is tonight only.
The festival runs tonight from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., then from noon to 6 p.m. tomorrow through Tuesday. The venue is the Unicef Sharing Plaza located on Nami Island. To reserve accommodations, call (031) 582-5118. Admission to tonight’s festivities is 150,000 won ($144) per person, with 50-percent off for elementary and middle school students (younger children get in free). Daily tickets for tomorrow through Tuesday are 60,000 won.
For more information, call Suzanna Oh at (02) 747-0655 or visit www.namisum.com.

by Choi Sun-young