From old-style farm to futuristic ubiquitous space

If you want to visit some place special but cannot spend a long time, here are some sites where you can enjoy quality time with your friends, family, and loved ones during a day’s visit. Just pick one of the places that range from a natural field where you can relive the old “analogue” era with the fragrance of freshly cut grass to a ubiquitous space where cutting-edge technologies realize whatever you imagine.

Special experiences are waiting for you in Petit France, a little french village in Gapyeong County, Aiins World in Bucheon City, which encapsulates diverse buildings of the world, Herb Island, a weekend farm where parents and children can bond while discovering everything about herbs, and Ubi-Park, in which reality is found not in this world but in the world of a “digital nomad.”

Farmland Theme Park – Farm Village Experience in City

<br’>http://english.gg.go.kr/renewal/images/editor/20100901_5.jpg”><br< a=””>>- Farmland Theme Park in Yongin provides a beautiful and welcoming place for relaxation throughout all four seasons. – GNewsPlus

Yongin Farmland Theme Park, located in Saam-ri of Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, is a farm village cultivated to provide a pleasant agricultural resting place where the visitors can experience farming, visit a farming village, and learn about the high-quality farm products of Gyeonggi Province.

In the 36,000 pyeong site, farmland experience facilities such as the weekend farm, the chestnut tree & mountain herbs complex, the healthy acupressure road, the farming machines exhibition hall, the pine tree promenade, the zoological garden, and the farming experience hall can be found. The facilities for viewing include the wild flowers complex, the windmill agricultural pond, the insects exhibition hall and insect breeding laboratory, and the high-quality farm products publicity hall. Other convenience facilities include a grass field, children’s playground, and wooden huts.

The operating hours are 9:30am to 7:30pm from March to October, and 9:30am to 6:00pm from November to February. (Saam-ri, Wonsam-myun, Cheoin-gu, Yongin City, 031-324-4025)

Petit France – A Little France in Korea

<br’>http://english.gg.go.kr/renewal/images/editor/20100901_4.jpg”><br< a=””>>- It is not easy to find an exotic place in Korea. Petit France accommodates group meetings of diverse kinds, providing experience programs and performances – GNewsPlus

A little piece of France can be found in Cheongpyeong. Petit France is a French cultural village based on Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. Entrepreneur Han Hong-Sup, who was mesmerized by France while operating a paint ship in the country, built Petit France in 2008 after 20 years of preparation.

Around thirty buildings with red tile roofs, a promenade reminiscent of the shores of the Mediterranean, the statue of the Little Prince, and a garden that looks like a knoll of the Alps… all of this combines to form an exotic vista. In Petit France, one can also see the house exhibition hall, which in itself is a 150-year old French house building, the memorial hall of Saint-Exupéry, the orgel house, and the shooting site of the television drama Beethoven Virus. Visitors can forge beautiful memories here, taking photographs in old-style French costumes, which are available for rent in the exhibition hall.

Exciting events should not be left unmentioned. Orgel, marionette, and world percussion performances as well as a soap bubble experience impart the feeling of a fairy-tale world. Walking on the wild-flower road will lead visitors to the three-story observatory building from which you can see all of Cheongpyong Lake at a glance.

Aiins World – Let’s tour the world

<br’>http://english.gg.go.kr/renewal/images/editor/20100901_3.jpg”><br< a=””>>- Aiins World, where world-famous buildings have been reproduced in miniature, is perfect for photographing. The night view is even more charming. – GNewsPlus

Aiins World is a miniature theme park where miniature models (1/25 scale) of 109 world-famous buildings from 25 countries have been constructed. Buildings appointed by UNESCO as World Cultural Heritage sites have been reconstructed through precise measurements as well as the restoration of paints, construction materials, and statues for exterior decoration used for the originals.

All building models have been manually constructed by Wonder Works of the U.S., one of the world’s best special effects company located, and reviewed through rigorous historical and architectural research. Since the exhibition halls are located outdoors, the overall mood of the buildings changes in accordance with the season, weather, and time of the day, imbuing a unique sense of reality. For instance, when night time comes, the interiors, exteriors, surroundings, and adjacent sceneries of the buildings are illuminated just like the real buildings; such technology is an application of Hollywood’s special effect technologies.

The model buildings are arranged with great care in order to maximize the sense of reality and facilitate photography. The nine zones, divided according to regional and cultural differences, each possess unique characteristics. Viewing is accompanied by a professional guide’s account, so that Aiins World is also used for educational purposes. (Sang-dong, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon City, 032-320-6000)

Ubi-Park – Futuristic Space in Your Imagination

<br’>http://english.gg.go.kr/renewal/images/editor/20100901_2.jpg”><br< a=””>>- Everything you imagine becomes real in the Topsyturvy House, the most popular place in Ubi-Park – GNewsPlus

The world’s larges ubiquitous space, Ubi-Park, has also become the place where one can experience the life in the future. It depicts the future of human life, which will presumably offer more convenience and happiness than now.

The visitor who has received a Ubi-Card, which enables one to access services anytime and anyplace by RFID, will first be startled at the gorgeous scale of Ubiquitous Is… the 360??????¢®¢¯?? circle theater. G&G Street is a futuristic restoration of Gyoha New City in Paju. U-House, where visitors can experience a future-oriented ubiquitous house, will also titillate one’s imagination.

The theme park built around Ubi-Park offers a variety of spectacles and a place for relaxation. Aside from convenience facilities of all kinds and event facilities, there are the future space filled with green grass and playgrounds, and the pinwheel hill decorated with colorful flowers and a large pinwheel. The water-edge promenade, where a large sculpture of the Little Prince stands, provides a U-Health system by which visitors can check their physical condition on the spot. (325 Yadang-ri, Gyoha-eup, Paju City, 031-946-2125)

Herb Island – Tasting herbs in your daily life

<br’>http://english.gg.go.kr/renewal/images/editor/20100901_11.jpg”><br< a=””>>- On Herb Island, where sweet scents pervades, the artificial cascade, promenade, and restaurants cater to visitors’ eyes and palates. -GNewsPlus

Herb Island is a herb farming village built in Samjeong-ri, Sihbuk-myon of Pocheon City in 1998. Under the motto “Herbs in Daily Life,” the 100,000 pyeong area consists of the indoor herb botanical garden, the outdoor garden, the herb restaurant, and the herb cafe.

In the Herb Garden, which is the outdoor garden, a flower garden, cascade garden, and promenade have been built. In the Herb Viewing Village, an area of 1,000m????, herbs such as rosemary, lavender, geranium, and jasmine are on display for visitors throughout all four seasons. One may change herb pots or buy herbs at the Herb Flower Shop, while in the Herb Sky Garden, the indoor botanical garden, one can enjoy a view of Herb Island.

Foods of diverse kinds are served on Herb Island. In the Herb Restaurant, one can enjoy herb bibimbob, herb spaghetti, herb pork chops, and other herb foods at moderate prices. The Herb Bakery sells herb cookies, herb roll-cakes, herb rye bread, and other kinds of herb breads with unique flavors, while in the Herb Rib Restaurant, exotic rib dishes seasoned with unique herb flavors await gourmets.

Apart from these facilities, Herb Island also features a craft studio, theater, small animal garden, and a gift shop, all of which appeal to the visitors’ five senses. (Shineup-dong, Pocheon City, 031-535-6494)

G NewsPlus | Choi Mi-Yeon miyeon09@gmail.com

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