Once upon a time there was a Little Prince who came from Asteroid B-612, stranded on Sahara Desert where he met the pilot. Some of you might be familiar with this story, some of you might not even heard of it. And so, what is the connection of this Little Prince story and this Petite France in South Korea? So Petite France is a famous French culture village with 'Rose, Asteroid, and Le Petite Prince' as its concept. You might have seen this place before in several dramas and variety shows, but I should tell you that this place is a bit meaningless to visit if you don't read The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) - a French novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. But if you want to know about this place, let's wander around a little bit with me.
As I stated on my previous post, we left Nami Island around 1 PM to catch the next Gapyeong tour bus, but apparently the bus wasn't on time. It was 45 minutes late from the schedule From Nami Island, it took around 25 minutes through the winding road to reach Petite France, and because of the road, I arrived at Petite France feeling a bit nauseous. But luckily, the nausea was quickly gone after a cup of hot tea from the coffee shop across the street.
The entrance ticket to Petite France is KRW 8,000, the same price with Nami Island ticket, but there are a lot more to see at Nami Island. Like I said before, it will be more meaningful visiting this place if you already read the book.
If you already read the book, you'll know the story behind these statues.
Remember the beginning part of the story when Little Prince asked the pilot to draw him a sheep?
Little Prince escaping the asteroid taking advantage of the migration of the wild birds.
The first asteroid Little Prince visited was inhabited by this King.
"Then you shall judge yourself," the king answered. "that is the most difficult thing of all. It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others. If you succeed in judging yourself rightly, then you are indeed a man of true wisdom."
And this is the drunkard.
“Why are you drinking? - the little prince asked.
In order to forget - replied the drunkard.
To forget what? - inquired the little prince, who was already feeling sorry for him.
To forget that I am ashamed - the drunkard confessed, hanging his head.
Ashamed of what? - asked the little prince who wanted to help him.
Ashamed of drinking! - concluded the drunkard, withdrawing into total silence.
And the little prince went away, puzzled.
'Grown-ups really are very, very odd', he said to himself as he continued his journey.”
The last planet visited by Little Prince was inhabited by The Geographer who advised Little Prince to visit planet earth.
Some of the most notable quotes from the book came from this fox.
“I am looking for friends. What does that mean -- tame?"
"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."
"To establish ties?"
"Just that," said the fox. "To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be unique in all the world....”
Okay, enough with the fairy tales. If you are curious, just read the book. It was one short yet interesting book. Okay, back to Petite France. So this place has several buildings and halls which held several activities and exhibitions like Puppet Play, Marionette Dance Performance, Plaster Art Exhibition and others. Let's take a look around Petite France.
I was amazed by the view I saw when visiting the back part of Petite France. So captivating.
Mention any drama or variety show that took place at this place!
You might remember some right? Some notable ones were My Love from Another Star, Secret Garden and Running Man.
You could take pictures as Do Min Joon and Cheon Song Yi Here.
Or maybe as Kim Joo Won or Hyun Bin KW 1?
So, that was my visit to Petite France. After the short visit, I queued again for the Gapyeong Tour Bus to reach my next destination - The Garden of Morning Calm. See you there!
SOUTH KOREA TRIP SERIES
[2013]
[2016]
