Chuncheon sits on a large lake, as you’ll no doubt notice as your train pulls into Chuncheon Station. Once upon a time - not so long ago, in fact - Chuncheon was known as a city of mountains. In addition to mountains, however, the town was blessed with fast flowing rivers, a blessing that did not go unnoticed by civil engineers, who - starting in the 1960s - proceeded to build some of Asia’s largest damns and hydroelectric plants in the area. This turned Chuncheon from a mountain railway junction to a city of lakes. Today, the town is surrounded by Uiam Lake to the west, Chuncheon Lake to the north and, further east, the massive Soyang Lake, which is so large to almost qualify as an inland sea. Home to numerous resort islands, including Namiseom, Jungdo (of which there are actually two) and Wido, the lakes provide visitors with tons of water sport activities in the summer months, and beautiful vistas in the winter months. Downtown Chuncheon, which sits on Lake Uiam, is a relatively large provincial capital and a major educational center, with several universities. It’s a pleasant enough place to walk around, and although by Korean standards, it’s relatively new, it does have a few historical sites of interest, including a number of Korean War memorials and two old Catholic churches founded by Irish missionaries in the mid-20th century.