Oh, man, it’s hot out there. This humid weather has me stuck between wanting fall to come and wanting to soak up as much summer as I can. Summer is my least favorite season and always seems so long to me. This year Ive really been trying to make the most of it. I’ll be honest, though, the heat has me tired and hot and hating the mask mandates. But, it is what it is! Where do we move on from there? We get out. Go outside. Get somewhere else inside. Go. Somewhere.
Having never lived in big cities before, we find ourselves craving the outdoors. Sometimes, though, it can be hard to do when you’re stuck in a rut. Last year around this time, I was in said rut and The Babe found this lovely place called Anseong Farmland. It came highly recommended, so we thought we’d give it a try. We usually use Waze to get there instead of the usual KAKAO or Naver. It doesn’t normally take any longer (I always compare ETA on each GPS before I head out) and it goes through farmland, orchards and past a few lakes versus freeways and concret. It’s a dream to drive this way in the fall and is a nice change any other day.
Though a bit pricy if you have more than a few kids, it’s worth it. Even just once. We’d buy a membership if we could because our little family enjoys it so much. Adults are $12/person and children are $10/person over 36 months. Under 36 months is free. They do have a military discount with ID but it’s only a few dollars. Which, honestly, is Awesome of them to honor that for military expats. Near the entrance of the farm there are a handful of restaurants. Some obvious Korean restaurants, pizza (I swear you can always find pizza) and soup. Farther within the land there is an eating area with things like corn dogs, ice cream, etc.
Once inside there is a lot to do. You can head to the right for a short stroll through the Koi Pond and Lilly Garden. The Lilly pads are the size of two heads when they are in full bloom and are beautiful! Up ahead and to the left there are amusement rides for children. There are ticket booths to buys tickets as these things cost extra.
Our favorite thing to do is the motorized quadricycle with canopy that you can drive on the perimeter of the land. It does cost money, but it won’t break the bank. (The actual amount escapes me). You only get 30 minutes, so there isn’t much time for dawdling. We stopped at some places farthest from the entrance within our time limit. After, we revisited places that were walkable from the entrance after we dropped off the quadricycle.
Our favorite spots to stop are the flower fields, the cows and the Muhly Grass (blooms in the fall). They put scarecrows up along the sides in the fall and there are cherry blossoms in the spring. There is something to see here in every season.
Of course, we’re in Korea. So, every family place (it seems) has animals along with all these other things. Of course, being a “farm land” it makes more sense. Sometimes I feel like they put zoos and animal exhibits anywhere just to get traffic. However, it fits here. There are rooms where you can hold out your finger for a parakeet to land on, chipmunks that crawl between trees in cages over head, goats, horses, sheep, cows and bunnies. If you time it right you can even get to the bunnies when they’re open for feeding. Be careful though, especially with your littles. Despite being careful, A is persistent and got bit by a bunny who assumed her tiny finger was a carrot. She cried for a minute and went right back to chasing and petting the bunnies.
One of our other favorite areas is the Bee Museum. They have products made with local honey for sale and I’ll tell you they’re worth it. The body wash is my favorite. It made a huge difference in my skin this past winter. They have lots of bee and insect displays as well as an area for children to color. It’s always a good place to get out of the heat or cold, too.
They have much more to do around the farm like archery, gigantic trampolines with slides, hamster balls, a trick-eye museum, etc. Of course all these things cost extra, so keep that in mind (the museum is free). There is also a sizable playground with a zip line, swings and picnic tables. We even saw a dog show once that we just happened upon that day. It was actually a lot more fun than I thought. We stopped to watched for a few minutes and my littles were entertained. They especially liked when they brought out the pony and the sheep.
We’ve been here so many times I wish they had a membership, an annual pass, anything! We will definitely be going back (Again, again . . . again).
Sharing the parking lot with Anseong Farmland is a convention center of sorts that has a current media art exhibition happening called “Nature Fantasia.” It was so beautiful! Our kids were free. It cost The Babe and I ₩11,000 each. We paid with card and that was that!
G was afraid at first since the lights are off, but he warmed up as we went along. The exhibit is made with holograms, lights and projectors to make you feel like you're immersed in the art.
We had a lot of fun and took our time exploring and enjoying the art. At the end they have a small gift shop which was fun to browse. It only took us about 45 minutes to get through the whole thing.
Both the farmland and the exhibit make for a fun family outing. I suppose it’d be fun to even go on a date (what are those again?) or just with some friends. We are looking forward to going again next month when the temperature drops more. Happy exploring!