Picking Tangerines on Jeju Island and Visiting a Sheep Farm
As my boyfriend and I get more and more serious about moving to America, I am more determined than ever to finally do all the things on my Korea bucket list. One of those being: pick tangerines on a farm on Jeju Island!
Korea’s southern-most island (often compared to Hawaii) is a place I’ve been lucky enough to visit more than once. It’s absolutely huge and even now, I haven’t seen half of it. It is famous for its tangerines which are in season during winter, around November to March.
I booked my flight for the first weekend in November, and made visiting Kyul Hyangi (tangerine scent) Farm my first priority!
I arrived at the farm right around open time, 9am. The farm is located about a 15 minute walk from the Halla Arboretum so its easy to access by bus or taxi. I walked into the small front office, asked if I could pick tangerines, and was given a bucket of supplies.
The older woman who runs the farm walked me through the orchard, introducing me to all the different citrus fruits they grew there. She showed me one particular tree that she “hates” because when she was little the taste of the fruit reminded her of Korean medicine. Eventually we reached the sweet tangerine section and I was left to my own devices.
You’re allowed to eat 5 while you’re picking (which I highly suggest especially if you’re there on a cold day, its like you took them right out of the freezer!) and then you can take home 1 kilo (about 10 tangerines)
You’re never rushed and can walk around the garden as long as yo'u’d like. I stayed for about an hour. After you’ve picked your tangerines, you go back to the office to weigh them. Mine were a little over 1kg but the woman said it was no big deal. You are also given a cup of tea and some jam with bread (both made from tangerines) if you’d like, but I was in a rush so I pass up on the offer.
The entire experience was 5,000won, or around $5. They give you a plastic bag for your tangerines if you didn’t bring your own, and sell a bunch of different tangerine-based products in case you need souvenirs.
I couldn’t suggest this place highly enough! The staff is lovely, the orchard is gorgeous, and the tangerines were absolutely delicious.
Info:
Place: 체험농장 귤향기 (Kyul Hyanggi)
Address: Jeju-si Nohyeong-dong 160
Hours: Every day 9am - sunset
My next stop was something equally fun, but this time I wasn’t doing the eat, I was doing the feeding!
Welcome to BAALAMB, a cafe with a huge pasture for a family of sheep and two sheep dogs (also a very shy goat).
This was much harder to access without a car so be wary of that before planning your trip here. I took a bus that dropped me off about a 20 minute walk away. For me, that’s not too bad, but it might be daunting for some people to walk through empty fields just for a cafe haha
I arrived around 11:30am and there were about 5 other people in the field and maybe 8 or 10 other people in the cafe (there was one entire family there!) I ordered a bagel and a coffee, and the barista was kind enough to say she’d wait to make my order until after I play with the sheep a little. I got a bucket of carrots (about 3,000won) and headed into the field.
Immediately I had a sheep trotting towards me looking for carrots. They were all really friendly and didn’t nibble on my clothes or anything, though they were pretty pushy when it came to getting the food (apparently I was too slow handing them the goods!)
After my bucket was empty I was essentially invisible to them and was ignored for the rest of my time there haha! The bagel and coffee was lovely, and everyone there seemed to be in a really good mood. The other customers were helping each other take photos and were all chatting with each other which is pretty rare here in Korea. Further proof that animal lovers are the best people on earth!
Info:
Place: 바램목장 (BAAMLAM)
Address: Andeok-myeon Donggwangri 259-3
Hours: 10am - 5pm (they update their instagram if there are any weather-related changes)
Instagram: http://instagram.com/baalamb_jeju
I ended my day exploring Seogwipo including the Jusangjeolli Cliffs (above) and eating Manbok kimbap (below). I watched the sun start setting over the water and then headed to my last stop of the day: Vols Kafe.
This cafe was a huge structure looking out over a tangerine orchard. It is a bakery as well and the chocolate croissant I had was absolutely heavenly. I had a green tea latte since Jeju is famous for green tea and soaked up the calming atmosphere. After this, I headed home to my guesthouse to get ready for another busy day.
