Three Charming European-Style Villages in Korea

Villages with theme of foreign countries are becoming popular tourist destination in Korea.
These villages can be divided into European-style and Chinese-style.
Incheon Chinatown is the biggest and only official chinatown in Korea but there are three european villages all scattered around Korea.

1. Gapyeong french village, Petite France

scene from SBS's You Who Came From The Stars

When you first enter this village, the first thing come to your mind would be 'Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
There are logos, drawings, and a museum about this celebrated French novel everywhere in this village. Actually it is built by a Korean who likes The Little Prince (French: Le Petit Prince') story so much.

The buildings are in European style, narrow and high, with bright colors. It is located in the middle of nowhere on the hillside, and surrounded by mountains (in the winter covered by snow) so it really looks like a Mediterranean village in the Alps.
It is consisted of 16 French-style buildings where visitors can lodge & experience French Food, Clothing & Household culture.
Also it was the shooting location for popular K-dramas like Beethoven Virus, Personal Taste, Secret Garden and SBS's You Who Came From Stars recently.

The entrance fee for this village is 8,000 KRW ($7.5) per person.
It would take you around 2 hours to go there from Seoul by express bus.
If you’re looking for an easy day trip out of Seoul, you can’t go wrong with this charming village.

2. German Village in Namhae

Located on a mountain by the southern sea, there is an odd little community, the German Village.

It was made to invite back and provide subsidies for Korean miners and nurses who were sent to Germany by the government in return for financial aid during some of Korea’s poorest years in the 1960s and 1970s.

It’s a very cute little neighborhood with some beautiful views, but it seems these days it’s more for tourists than anyone else. There were a lot of places to stay the night and a few cafe’s which offers ice cream, waffles, fruits and bagels but sausages served alongside sauerkraut and sweet mustard, which go well with German beer. The outdoor porch seating also offers a great view of the sea.

Although the village isn’t quite as authentic as those in Germany, you can still enjoy all the little yards and exotic atmosphere as buildings here looked very different from a lot of Korean homes. Just keep that in mind this is another culture’s interpretation of Germany instead of actual German homes.
This European-style homes have reportedly been built with imported materials from Germany and the cars even have German license plates.

3. English Village in Paju

A nicely built and new village located northwest of the Seoul
This village recreated the daily life of many English-speaking country, but mostly England.
The gateway to this village is the copy of UK's leading cultural property 'Stonehenge'

Concert Hall and the structure at the road connecting to city hall is named 'Sun Building' which is modeled after the image of Covent Garden, London, UK. Covent Garden is a large garden owned by the royal family in the 17th century and now it's public market in UK.
The concert hall in village is reminiscent of the UK's leading venues, Royal Albert Hall, and Victorian Town Hall resemble the National Gallery of UK.

The Paju village opened in 2006,
But the villages have dwindled steadily in popularity in recent years and have been plagued with operating deficits.
Still, this village is good for one day trip out of Seoul.