Namwon

Namwon (Namwon-si) is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. Namwon is about 50 minutes from the provincial capital of Jeonju, which is almost three hours away from Seoul. The official city flower is Royal Azalea (철쭉) while the city tree is the crape-myrtle (배롱나무) and the city bird is the swallow (제비). Namwon is a small city located just outside Jirisan National Park, which has the largest set of mountains on the South Korean Mainland. It also borders the Seomjin River, one of South Korea's more prominent rivers. It is 3 hours and 15 minutes from the Seoul Central City Bus Terminal (via direct bus) and about one hour from both the U-Square Bus Terminal in Gwangju and the Jeonju Inter City Bus Terminal (depending on traffic). It is called "the City of Love" because of the famous Korean love story of Chunhyang. Gwanghallu Garden is a shrine to this love story.

History

Namwon was founded in 685 during the reign of King Sinmun of Silla Kingdom. Namwon county was founded on April 1, 1895. The city suffered during the Siege of Namwon in 1597 during the Imjin War.