Gangwon Province is home to many lagoons shaped by the push and pull between land and sea, but its inland lakes are just as impressive.
The province's five great freshwater lakes — known collectively as the Gangwon Five Great Lakes — are shared among five cities and counties: Chuncheon, Hongcheon, Hwacheon, Yanggu and Inje. Much like the Niagara River and its famous falls link Lake Ontario and Lake Erie along the US-Canada border, Gangwon's five lakes are interconnected.
The five are Uiam Lake, Chuncheon Lake, Soyang Lake, Paro Lake and Seoho — the last being the name given to the central-western portion of Paro Lake, which Yanggu and Hwacheon share.
Particularly striking is the fact that Inje, in the province's northeast, and Chuncheon, in the northwest, share the vast, elongated Soyang Lake.
Driving through northern Gangwon Province, travelers are often struck by the grandeur of its mountains — but it is the long, sweeping lakes that tend to prompt a sudden, overwhelming appreciation for Korea's natural beauty. Norway might offer a similar feeling.
Now, Gangwon's Five Great Lakes are heading to the National Assembly. The goal is marketing: to remind the public of these hidden gems.
The Gangwon Tourism Foundation will operate a promotional booth Monday at the second-floor lobby of the National Assembly Members' Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, jointly with five cities and counties that share the lake tourism zone and the office of Assembly member Heo Yeong. The booth is part of the 2026 Lake Culture Tourism Zone "Ohorak" campaign.
Tell someone that Gangwon has its own version of the Great Lakes — like those on the US-Canada border — and they might scoff. But show them the charms of Uiam Lake, Paro Lake and Soyang Lake, and the reaction tends to be genuine wonder. Some have argued that these destinations have lingered too long as "hidden gems," their recognition lagging far behind their appeal, and that stronger marketing is overdue.
Ohorak — a name combining the Korean words for "lake," "culture tourism zone" and "joy of travel" — captures the diverse pleasures offered by the five cities and counties. The promotional booth will showcase distinctive local tourism products, food and activities. Through various participatory events, visitors will receive promotional materials and regional specialty goods, offering a fresh experience for Assembly officials and visitors from across the country alike.
The joint promotional marketing campaign for the Lake Culture Tourism Zone has now run for four consecutive years since 2023. The five municipalities have worked with the foundation to develop and operate tourism and promotional products centered on lake tourism.
In September, the foundation plans a larger promotional booth at a well-known outdoor festival venue in Seoul, targeting city residents to spread the appeal of Gangwon's lake culture tourism more widely.
Also in the pipeline is a photography travel product launching in September, designed for visitors who want to combine travel with a hobby — capturing the rich natural scenery and local lifestyle of the lake tourism zone's cities and counties on camera.
Choi Seong-hyeon, president of the Gangwon Tourism Foundation, said municipalities sharing inland waters have rarely joined forces to form a single cultural tourism zone and develop it into distinctive tourism products. "We will use this National Assembly booth as a springboard for proactive, venue-agnostic promotion to introduce Gangwon's diverse tourism resources to the Greater Seoul area," he said.
Link the five inland lake municipalities with Gangwon's coastal lagoons — Hwajinpo, Songjiho and Gyeongpoho among them — and a Gangwon lake tour could become one of the most compelling summer getaways in the country.
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