The Art of Establishing FriendSHEEP at Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm (대관령 양떼목장)

Do you know the place called Pyeongchang in South Korea?

Pyeongchang is a city in the province of Gangwondo, and  if you don’t know about it yet, it’s the venue for the 2018 Winter Olympics. For the time being, Pyeongchang is just an ordinary place, in 2018, everybody will be talking about it and it will become special. Aside from the anticipated Winter Olympics, Pyeongchang houses a very important treasure that tourists and locals will surely love to visit, it's a place called Daegwallyeong Sheep Ranch.





Oh wait, a sheep ranch in Korea?

It's quite unusual right? It does exist and it's the only sheep ranch in Pyeongchang. I am not sure if there are other sheep ranches somewhere in South Korea, but this one is believed to be the largest and it is privately owned. The only downside is that it’s so far when you come from Seoul. We traveled more than 3 hours from the city. We traveled as a group, thanks to Goh Travel Korea for organizing the tour to that side of Korea because I think I'll find it hard to commute. It was such a long trip but when we arrived at the ranch, this view welcomed us.



For a second, I thought I was in New Zealand. Not that I have been there, it's just that, I saw photos of New Zealand and how it looks like with its green pasture and peaceful ambiance. The sheep ranch is so huge, it has an area of 195 k㎡ and it features more than 200 sheeps. We were just so lucky because we visited the ranch at the peak of its grazing season. The view of the sheeps roaming around the green plain is the common scene you can see in the area. Usually, grazing season is during late May to early October, so it is best to visit the ranch at this point of time.

What we did during our visit is that, we walked, we walked, we also walked and of course, we walked. Nothing beats the joy of walking in the green fields. We took photos here and there, we talked and laughed and we just enjoyed the serenity of the place.



The main event was to make friends with the sheep. The sheep in general are actually shy and timid. It's hard to make friends with them because either they are busy eating the grasses or they just don't like you. I've never had a close encounter with a lot of sheep before but the sheep at Daegwallyeong are extra friendly especially if you bring them gift, and by gift I mean the hay, the precious hay.



For some reason, I was jealous with the sheep because they don't do anything except to eat, to sleep and to stay cute for the curious visitors. All of them, small and big ones, were all bloated. What a joy to live in a green pasture, yeah? Some of the sheep are not lucky enough to enjoy the green grass because they’re actually caged in one area so people can just go to them and feed them with the hay. They’re under the mercy of the visitors; people just randomly feed the sheep they want to be friend with.  And as for the sheep, they don’t care who you are, where you from, what you did, as long as you have hay for them, they will be an instant friend for you.


I can’t get enough of the sheep and the view, but since we have consumed a lot of time already on our travel and we still have another place to visit in our itinerary, we need to end our friendsheep and move on. It was such a fun trip, it’s nice to get along with the sheep and we enjoyed the whole ranch experience.



We finished the sheep feeding tour at around 1 pm. We didn't know we spent a good more than an hour at the ranch. We were starving at that time so we decided to head on to the entrance of the ranch because there are restaurants and stores there. It's a good idea to put up food booths at the entrance of the ranch because feeding the sheep will definitely make you hungry. There are variety of food you can buy like Korean food, ttok and guess what, grilled lambs. But I didn't eat the lamb because I just befriended some of their family members, I feel guilty.... ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

If you want to go to this ranch, you can check the address:

483-32, Daegwallyeongmaru-gil, Daegwannyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do
강원도 평창군 대관령면 대관령마루길 483-32

For the commuters, you can take an intercity bus to to Hoenggye (횡계) from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. From Hoenggye Intercity Bus Terminal, take a taxi to the farm. Taxi fare is about 8,000 won.

Admission Fees

[Individuals]
Adults: 4,000 won / Children & Teenagers (ages 6-19): 3,500 won / Seniors (ages 65 and above) & People with Disabilities: 2,000 won

[Group]
Adults: 3,500 won / Children & Teenagers (ages 6-19): 3,000 won / Seniors & People with Disabilities: 2,000 won



Comments

  1. So you did have a well-spent day getting into friendsheep mode:-)! I have always loved looking at the pictures of Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm. We crossed this out the 2 times we went to Pyeonchang since kids were happy feeding sheep at Alpensia. But this one looks really nice. Great to see you enjoying your time.

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  2. I went to a sheep ranch in Pyeongcheon before but I don't think this is the same one. This one looks way better than the one I went to. Thanks for sharing, this place is now on my list to visit.

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  3. I heard it's popular to go to sheep farms now. I think people like getting the New Zealand or abroad experience in their own country. I would like to try this out sometime!

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  4. Haha I find it funny that this is destination you have to pay to get into. I should tell my parents to start charging people to visit their farm. Anyways, it does look very beautiful and I would have never guessed there was a sheep ranch in Korea. It looks like it was a fun day!

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  5. Didn't know about this until today. I'd love to try this out.
    And I heard quite a bit about Goh Travel Korea -- maybe I'll use them the next time I'm thinking of taking trips around Korea.
    Thanks for sharing this :)

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  6. Looks like a place to go to with my daughter. I understand your feeling of guilt after your friendsheep LOL. However, if lamb is cooked right it's really really good.

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  7. Sounds like a cool spot. The sheep seem mighty friendly too. Very cool post!

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  8. Oh my gosh, this is the place that has been on my list for a while! It looks so neat and totally like from another country. The sheep are adorable and I'm glad you had a great time.

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  9. That place looks awesome. I've never heard of it. Thanks for providing the prices and directions. I love helpful, informative travel blogs!

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  10. It looks like an awesome day but I'm confused as to why there is an entrance fee somewhere like this. Love all the pictures and glad you had a fun time with friends!

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