Where to stay in Gapyeong

Quick pick

Why stay the night in Gapyeong

Gapyeong is a county of water and hills. Gapyeong County puts the mountains at about 84% of its land, VisitKorea's 2024 guide says it is known for water sports, and the Bukhangang River runs through it. The dam at Cheongpyeong holds back the river as Cheongpyeong Lake, which VisitKorea describes as an artificial lake with water-skiing, motor boats, jet skis and banana boats. Gapyeong-eup has Jarasum, the four-isle island named after a terrapin-shaped hill, and the wharf for the ferry to Nami Island, which sits in the middle of the river and officially belongs to Chuncheon.

Nami Island is the clearest case for a night here. The official timetable for the autumn season, 18 September to 22 November 2026, has the first ferry at 07:30 every day and the last to the island at 21:30 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays; outside that season, the first ferry is at 08:00 and the last to the island at 21:00. Stay in Gapyeong town and the 07:30 ferry is a 20-minute walk from Gapyeong Station on Nami Island's figure, rather than an early train from Seoul.

A second day is worth it for the rest of the county. Jarasum is free to enter and open all year, the Gapyeong Rail Park sends railbikes over two iron bridges, and Cheongpyeong has the lake, Homyeonghosu Lake Park and two theme villages. Gapyeong County's own shortlist is its Eight Scenes of Gapyeong:

• Cheongpyeong Lakeside, which the county says people seek for summer holidays and visit all year round.
• Homyeong Lake, with the walking trails of Homyeonghosu Lake Park.
• Yongchugugok Valley, a stream between strangely shaped rocks in VisitKorea's description.
• Myeongji-danpung, Jeokmokyongso and Unakmanggyeong.
• Chuknyeong-baekrim, a Korean white-pine forest on Chuknyeongsan in Sang-myeon, closed to visitors during specified periods.
• Yumyeongnonggye.

The two bases compared

Our rule: stay in Gapyeong town for Nami Island, Jarasum, a first visit or a trip without a car, and in Cheongpyeong for the lake, water sports and the theme villages.

Gapyeong Town & the Nami Island Wharf is the all-round base. Gapyeong Station is the stop for both the ITX-Cheongchun and the Gyeongchun Line, Gapyeong Bus Terminal has the intercity buses from Dong Seoul, and the county's sightseeing loop bus runs from the terminal. Nami Island's official site puts the entry wharf 1.5 km from the station, 20 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by bus 10-4 or taxi, and VisitKorea's 2024 guide makes the walk about 30 minutes. Jarasum, the Gapyeong Rail Park and the General Lee Bang-sil Tomb are all in Gapyeong-eup. The trade-off is the lake and the villages, which are by Cheongpyeong.

Cheongpyeong is the quieter lake base, and it is honest to say it is the thinner one. Cheongpyeong Lake is the draw in summer, Homyeonghosu Lake Park's trails on Homyeongsan Mountain are open 24 hours, all year, and Petite France and the Italian Village share an address at 1063 Hoban-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, both open 09:00–18:00, all year. Cheongpyeong Station is on the Gyeongchun Line, but VisitKorea's Korean guide (2019) says only some ITX-Cheongchun trains stop there, and the villages are a ride on bus 30-5 with walks of about 15 minutes at either end. Choose it for the water and the villages, not for Nami Island.

Two nights is a good shape for most trips: one in Gapyeong town for Nami Island's first ferry and Jarasum, one by the lake at Cheongpyeong. With one night, take Gapyeong town and treat Cheongpyeong as a ride down the Gyeongchun Line.

• Gapyeong Town & the Nami Island Wharf: ITX-Cheongchun and Gyeongchun Line trains, the Nami Island ferry 1.5 km away, Jarasum and the Rail Park.
• Cheongpyeong: Cheongpyeong Lake's water sports, Homyeonghosu Lake Park, Petite France and the Italian Village; Gyeongchun Line, bus 30-5 and the loop bus.

Getting to Gapyeong

Come by train. Nami Island's official site gives the ITX-Cheongchun to Gapyeong as about 42 minutes from Cheongnyangni or about 60 minutes from Yongsan, and VisitKorea's train guide describes it as a train with a maximum speed of 180 km/h. VisitKorea's Korean guide (2019) adds that some ITX-Cheongchun trains stop at Cheongpyeong depending on the time of day.

The Gyeongchun Line is the alternative: about 50 minutes from Sangbong, on Seoul's Line 7, to Gapyeong, on Nami Island's figure. VisitKorea's 2024 guide gives both lines as about an hour. For Cheongpyeong, Gapyeong County's directions are simply to get off the train at Cheongpyeong.

By bus, VisitKorea's 2024 guide gives the intercity bus from Dong Seoul to Gapyeong Bus Terminal as about 1 hour 10 minutes, with 10 departures a day; the terminal is about 3 km from the Nami Island wharf. VisitKorea's Korean guide (December 2024) gives about nine buses a day from Dong Seoul to Cheongpyeong, taking about an hour. Gapyeong County's directions also list buses from Sangbong terminal.

Incheon Airport's list of late-night buses to Gyeonggi has no Gapyeong route, so from the airport take AREX to Seoul Station, about 43 minutes on the Express or 59 minutes on the All-Stop from Terminal 1 (VisitKorea, 2026), then the subway to Cheongnyangni or Yongsan for the ITX-Cheongchun, or to Sangbong for the Gyeongchun Line.

Once you are here, the buses do the work. Bus 10-4 runs from Gapyeong Station to the Nami Island wharf in about 5 minutes (Nami Island official site), bus 30-5 runs from Cheongpyeong to the Petite France stop (VisitKorea Korean guide, December 2024), and the county's sightseeing loop bus, running since 1 January 2023, links Gapyeong Terminal, Gapyeong Station, Cheongpyeong Station and the Garden of Morning Calm (Gyeonggi Tourism Organization; VisitKorea Korean guide, 2024). Taxis fill the gaps: about 5 minutes from Gapyeong Station to the wharf.

• ITX-Cheongchun: about 42 min from Cheongnyangni, about 60 min from Yongsan to Gapyeong (Nami Island official site).
• Gyeongchun Line: about 50 min from Sangbong to Gapyeong (Nami Island official site).
• Intercity bus: Dong Seoul to Gapyeong, about 1 h 10 min, 10 departures a day (VisitKorea, 2024); Dong Seoul to Cheongpyeong, about 1 h, about nine a day (VisitKorea Korean guide, December 2024).
• Incheon Airport: AREX to Seoul Station, then the subway to the ITX or the Gyeongchun Line; no Gapyeong route on Incheon Airport's late-night bus list.
• Local: bus 10-4 to the Nami Island wharf, bus 30-5 to the theme villages, the county loop bus, taxis.

Nami Island: a Chuncheon island with a Gapyeong ferry

Nami Island is not in Gapyeong. Its address is 1 Namiseom-gil, Namsan-myeon, Chuncheon-si, and the official site says plainly that it officially belongs to Chuncheon. But the island sits in the middle of the river, VisitKorea explains, so the last leg is by ferry, and the ferry leaves from the Nami Island Entry Wharf in Gapyeong-eup, Gyeonggi-do, at 1024 Bukhangangbyeon-ro. Search for Nami Island Gapyeong Wharf in a navigation app, as the official site suggests. The crossing takes about five minutes.

That geography is why Gapyeong town is the base for the island. Nami Island's official site puts the wharf 1.5 km from Gapyeong Station: 20 minutes on foot, or 5 minutes by bus 10-4 or taxi. VisitKorea's 2024 guide gives the walk as about 30 minutes and the taxi as 5. Gapyeong Bus Terminal is about 3 km from the dock, VisitKorea says, so bus travellers finish by taxi.

Time your crossing by the official timetable. In the autumn season, 18 September to 22 November 2026, the first ferry is at 07:30 every day and the last to the island is at 21:30 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Outside that season, the first ferry is at 08:00 and the last to the island at 21:00. A night in Gapyeong town turns the first ferry into a short walk, and autumn weekends are the dates to book early.

VisitKorea's 100 Must-Visit Tourist Spots calls Nami Island the largest private garden in Korea. Give it a morning, then come back across the river for Jarasum and the Rail Park in the afternoon.

Jarasum and the Jarasum Jazz Festival

Jarasum, which VisitKorea lists as JARA ISLAND, is at 60 Jaraseom-ro, Gapyeong-eup. The name comes from a hill that resembles a terrapin, or jara, and the island is really four: Dongdo, Seodo, Jungdo and Namdo. VisitKorea lists it as accessible at all times and open all year, with free admission, so it works for a morning walk, a late-afternoon stroll or a gap between trains.

Every October it becomes a festival ground. VisitKorea says Jarasum has hosted the Jarasum International Jazz Festival every year since 2004, and a VisitKorea course describes the terrapin-shaped island coming alive each October with the sound of the festival. In 2026 the 23rd edition ran 9–11 October in and around Jarasum, according to the festival's official site, and Gapyeong County describes the festival as a mid-October event of three to five days. On festival dates, a bed in Gapyeong town is the one to book first.

The Gapyeong Rail Park, at 14 Jangteo-gil in the same eup, makes a natural pair with the island. VisitKorea describes a railbike tour on an old railroad track that crosses the Gapyeongcheon Stream Iron Bridge and the Bukhangang Iron Bridge and passes through a zelkova tunnel; the first session is at 09:00, then about every 1 hour 30 minutes, all year. Also in Gapyeong-eup, in Hasaek-ri, is the tomb of General Lee Bang-sil, a Goryeo official who died in 1362, designated Provincial Monument no. 52 in 1979; the county gives a bus from Gapyeong Terminal towards Dumilli.

Cheongpyeong Lake and the theme villages

Cheongpyeong's lake is VisitKorea's artificial lake formed by Cheongpyeong Dam on the Bukhangang River, with 30 boating areas around it for water-skiing, motor boats, jet skis and banana boats. Gapyeong County calls Cheongpyeong Lakeside the first of its Eight Scenes and says people seek the lake for summer holidays, while visitors come all year round. Homyeonghosu Lake Park, on Homyeongsan Mountain at 77 Sangji-ro 64beon-gil, Cheongpyeong-myeon, adds walking trails around a lake of its own, open 24 hours, all year.

Petite France and the Italian Village sit together at 1063 Hoban-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon. VisitKorea describes Petite France as a French cultural village set in the Korean countryside, themed on flowers, stars and The Little Prince, with a Saint-Exupéry memorial hall and an Orgel House, and a VisitKorea course lists it as a K-drama filming location. The Italian Village, in VisitKorea's words, introduces Italian culture under the themes of Pinocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, and VisitKorea's Korean guide calls it Petite France's sister village. Both are open 09:00–18:00, all year.

Getting there is by bus. VisitKorea's Korean guide (December 2024) sends you from Cheongpyeong Station on foot to the Cheongpyeong NH bus stop, about 15 minutes, then on bus 30-5 to the Petite France stop; from Cheongpyeong Terminal, bus 30-5 runs direct. The same guide notes that the county's sightseeing loop bus includes the Italian Village. The Garden of Morning Calm, an arboretum in Sang-myeon with 20 themed gardens in VisitKorea's description, is at the far end of the loop.

Onward to Chuncheon

Gapyeong and Chuncheon are on the same rails. VisitKorea's train guide describes the ITX-Cheongchun as running from Yongsan Station to Chuncheon, and Nami Island's official site gives the ITX between Chuncheon and Gapyeong as about 20 minutes and the Gyeongchun Line as about 28 minutes. A night in Gapyeong town pairs naturally with a stay in Chuncheon, Nami Island's administrative home, and the trains back to Cheongnyangni and Yongsan run through Gapyeong Station. See our Chuncheon guide for the next stop.

Every Gapyeong area guide

• Gapyeong Town & the Nami Island WharfGapyeong's rail hub, 1.5 km from the Nami Island ferry, with Jarasum in the same town.
• CheongpyeongThe quieter lake base: Cheongpyeong Lake, Homyeonghosu and the two theme villages.