If you're heading to Seoul during the winter, on top of the typical shopping and food hunting you will enjoy in the freezing cold, something you can look forward to is a visit to beautiful Nami Island. Many head to the Nami Island in winter for photo ops with the Winter Sonata sculptures and if you're visiting in autumn, the foliage is a stunning landscape to enjoy. But winter is gorgeous in a whole other way.

Also, because you will have to queue up to get onto the ferry to cross over to the island, the queues are not that bad in the winter compared to other seasons. If you're crazy enough, you could zipline across and it would save you time. The ferry ride takes about 8 minutes while the zipline is only a fourth of that.

If you come here in winter and in the new year, you will be treated to be beautiful ice sculpture with the new year carved right into it. It's a great photo that many will scramble to take, of course and the best time to capture this shot is when you're still on the boat on the way to the island. The best part about winter is that not many people will want to spend a whole day out in the cold subzero temperatures, giving you plenty of opportunities to take shots with minimal interruption.

Little decorative pieces are found in the different parts of Nami Island. Clearly, Singapore has also made its mark here with a mini Merlion statue spewing out water and the two Singapore flags proudly waving in the icy breeze.

What I loved about being in Nami Island (on a weekend, no less!) during winter is being able to just walk around and enjoy the sites without bumping into anyone. And if you want to take pictures with/at the sculptures itself, that will not be a problem. #newprofilepicture!

The only thing you will have to endure is debilitating cold. #weaksauce

But it's all part of the experience of being in Nami Island during the winter. You get to explore nature and see things you typically wouldn't get to see during other times of the year. I even managed to catch a squirrel foraging for food and then chomping down on the nut. It seemed to be oblivious to the fact that I had my camera right up in its face.

There will be some leftover foliage from autumn if you come in early winter, of course, giving you a nice mix of that transitioning season.

But one of the most fun things about Nami island in winter is, of course, the snow. And Nami Island makes the most of the snow by giving its visitors plenty of things to do with it.

Whether it is in the form of little snow caves hidden in snow hills that you can "sled" down, there are plenty of things for you to do here at Nami Island. You just need to endure the cold!

Ice sculptures are everywhere and you can spend as much time as you want taking photos without having to worry about holding many people up.

Feeling too cold? Nami Island has little outdoor fireplaces that you can warm your extremities at.

Just look at this winter wonderland!

How to get to Nami Island from Seoul 1. Take the metro to Yongsan station 2. From Yongsan station, buy tickets for the ITX to Gapyeong Station 3. From Gapyeong Station, take the Nami Tour Bus just outside the station to the Nami Island stop 4. Take the ferry from Nami Island stop to Nami Island!

The public transportation system in Korea is easy to navigate and fun to use! But you should ensure that you're staying at a hotel near the train stations. It's no joke getting to Nami Island in winter and having to brave through long walks in the blistering cold.

We stayed at TMark Hotel in Myeongdong, only a 2 minute walk away from the nearest station. For the affordable price of only RM350 per night, we stayed for 6 nights and enjoyed the HUGE rooms and superb service at the hotel. The hotel staff even helped us order in some famous Korean fried chicken on a particularly unforgivingly cold night!

So we would definitely recommend a stay at TMark Hotel!

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