A must-see for K-drama fans! Day trip to Nami Island + Petite France + Italian Village
m
Affiliate
7 days ago
I joined the day trip 'Nami Island + Petite France + Italian Village' this time. I like traveling, but because these spots are hard to reach and when I'm alone I can't ask anyone for help if something goes wrong, I decided to join a tour.
I currently live in Seoul, so I left home at 7:30 and arrived at the meeting point, Hongdae Entrance Station, around 8:00. There I met up with the guide and boarded the bus. The bus guide, because of their job, deals with many customers and didn't seem to recognize me, but it turned out to be the same guide from the last bus tour I joined, which surprised me.
We departed Hongdae Entrance Station at 8:20 on schedule. Around 8:35 we arrived at Myeongdong Station to pick up other guests and take a restroom break, then left around 9:05. After that we went to the final pickup point, Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station. The day I joined the tour was the same day BTS had a comeback performance at Gwanghwamun, so police officers and patrol cars were visible around town. I also saw BTS promotional flags nearby that I don't usually see where I live. There were about 25 participants, many of them families or friends, and I was the only Japanese person.
We left around 9:13 AM and arrived at Petite France and the Italian Village at 10:30 AM. Looking across from the Petite France and Italian Village buildings, there were no shops, just open land stretching out.
First, all tour participants headed to the Italian Village, took a commemorative photo in front of Pinocchio, then had free time. Everyone toured Petite France on their own, and we were told to be back on the bus by 12:00.
The Italian Village centers on Pinocchio and Leonardo da Vinci, featuring exhibits and shops related to Italian culture. A towering 10.8m statue of Pinocchio at the entrance makes a big impression, and many tourists were taking photos. The antiques exhibition area gathers stylish pieces, making you feel like nobility. There’s also a mask gallery and an observatory with views over Gapyeong, among other exhibits spread across the large grounds. I didn’t have time to see a performance, but shows and events are held several times a day.
It was also used for filming Korean dramas like Green Mothers' Club and Vincenzo. As someone who loves Korean dramas, I got excited remembering the emotions and scenes when I watched them.
The grounds are spacious, so I took a quick look around the Italian Village, then headed to my top destination, Petite France. Petite France is a theme park inspired by The Little Prince, and it’s famous as a filming location for Korean dramas and variety shows like You Who Came from the Stars, Secret Garden, and Running Man. Inside Petite France there were promotional exhibits and celebrities’ autographs on display.
On the grounds, I was surprised to see insect figurines and bird enclosures that didn’t seem related to the French concept or The Little Prince, but there was also a monastery on the property and a guesthouse where you can actually stay overnight, so it was an interesting theme park.
While sightseeing, a solo traveler from abroad asked me to take their photo, and we took pictures of each other, but honestly I only understood about half of the English. I love traveling, so at times like that I think, “I should have studied English more.”
I returned to the bus five minutes before the meeting time and waited for departure, but when the guide counted, a few people hadn’t come back. They returned five minutes after the scheduled time, and we left at 12:05. On the bus guide’s recommendation, we traveled by bus to a shop in Chuncheon famous for Dakgalbi. The restaurant lets you order by smartphone, but for “Dakgalbi, single serving,” which wasn’t on the smartphone menu, a staff member brought a paper menu. I wanted to try the famous Dakgalbi since I was there, but a single serving with a drink cost 27,000 won, and since I’m living by dipping into my savings right now, I thought “I could eat three meals for that,” so I gave up and had Bibimbap for 10,000 won. Most of the other tourists ordered Dakgalbi. Maybe because there weren’t many customers, the service was excellent, and they took commemorative photos of the people eating Dakgalbi. By the way, it had been about a month since I came to Korea, and that was my first time eating Bibimbap, haha. If I get another chance to go to Chuncheon, I want to eat Dakgalbi then without worrying about the price.
After about an hour for lunch, we arrived at the ferry terminal to Nami Island, a 2–3 minute drive away. Since it was Saturday, there were a lot of tourists. We reached the island around 1:45 PM, were told to regroup at 4:20 PM, and then had free time to explore.
Nami Island is a crescent-shaped island rich in nature floating on the Bukhan River. In spring you can enjoy cherry blossoms, in autumn the colorful leaves, and the ginkgo tree-lined road is especially famous. When I visited there was still some snow left because of cold days. It is famous as a filming location of the drama Winter Sonata, which helped spark the Korean Wave in Japan. There was also a monument on the island. The island has hotels, restaurants, and a campground, plus statues, a train, bicycle rentals, and a dog run, so you can enjoy a full day there.
The first thing that surprised me when I arrived on the island was how many animals there were. It might have been luck, but when I visited I saw squirrels and rabbits (often), pheasants, and ducks.
I didn’t use the rental bicycles, I just walked around the island roughly, and since I was traveling alone I felt like I would have had plenty of time if I hadn’t gone to a cafe or joined activities. There are lots of benches and places to rest, so I lay down and took a short break.
I arrived 10 minutes before the meeting time, but there were so many people, and because I got there early I couldn’t find the bus guide or the other tour participants. I’m not great at English, so I might have misunderstood “meet at 16:20 where you got off the boat” as “get on the boat and meet at 16:20 at the place we started,” so I boarded the boat early. Actually, someone from the same tour posted in the group chat that they had “gotten on the boat early and tried to return to the bus, but the bus wasn’t there.” When I got back to the bus, no one was there, so I started to worry, thinking “did I make a mistake?” or “where did everyone go?” After a while, the guide and most of the tour participants returned, but two people were still missing, so we waited another five minutes.
We left Nami Island at 4:45 p.m., and the sunset visible from the bus window was so beautiful I couldn’t help taking photos. We arrived at Daemun History & Culture Park Station at 6:20 p.m., Myeongdong Station at 6:27 p.m., and Hongdae Entrance Station at 6:50 p.m. When getting off at Hongdae Entrance Station, the exit location was different than usual because of a BTS performance, but they still took us right to the station.
If you book now with the membership I belong to, the usual price of 8,214 yen is reduced to 7,393 yen, a discount of 821 yen.
The admission fee for Petite France and the Italian Village is 19,500 won, and the admission fee for Nami Island is 19,000 won. Taking the KTX from Seoul Station to Chuncheon takes about an hour one way and costs around 10,000 won. Since you then have to take a bus to get around, even if you manage to keep costs down, I don’t think it ends up being that much cheaper than a tour. (It’s different if you take an express bus or local trains on your own.)
So if you're interested, definitely consider joining the tour!!
