DAY TRIP NEAR SEOUL in SPRING – STRAWBERRIES, RAIL BIKE, K-drama shooting location and more!

 We want to bring you out of the Seoul city and visit around one and a half hour from Seoul. Many of you might know already about Nami Island and Petite France. We will recommend you to other places to go!  You can go by car it’s the easiest to visit few places in a day. Otherwise , it might be difficult to go from one place to another.

Let us see what are great things to do this season!

 

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1. Strawberry picking in Korea

 

• When to pick: every year from December to June.

What is special about Korean strawberries:

Korean strawberries are known to be really sweet and famous and let’s find out the reason !

• Why winter strawberries ? in Korea the strawberries are grown in greenhouses because until 1980s strawberries season was in early June. but then greenhouses spreaded and they started to grow in the winter because the weather is colder it takes longer for strawberries to grow and to ripe. This makes strawberries sweeter, and less sour.  That’s why Korean strawberries are known to be sweet and good quality!  

 

• Where to pick strawberries

Although there are many strawberry farms near Seoul in the Gyeonggi-do area but where we recommend this place in this Yangsuli area, accessible by subway

• How to pick strawberry?

1. Find a big and red strawberry that looks red and and ripe
2. Grab and break it from stem (do not pull) and break the flower

• What else to do at a strawberry farm ?

• Making Jam: Why jam at strawberry farm is more special?  

The jam freshly made at the farm has a higher percentage of strawberries (usually it’s only 1:1 proportion sugar  and strawberry) at the strawberry farm it’s their special recipe choosing the sweet strawberries and with 50 % less sugar  and more  strawberries so there is strawberry taste. For example, for 1KG strawberries, they put 500g of sugar.

How to make it: put the mentioned proportions of fresh strawberries and sugar into the special big pot and continue to stir for 20 minutes and then package it into jars. It’s a really big pot and the stirring stick is really big!

 

 

This is a song in Korea called “DALGI” strawberries and quite famous! Check it out! 

• Pipi Band — Strawberry (Talgi)  

 

• What is the cost of picking strawberries?

First, you need to book the date and time when you will do strawberry picking. This is to ensure that they do have enough strawberries ready for picking. It’s on average around USD$20  for 500g of strawberries to pick and make jam and you can bring back.

TIP >>

• Don’t eat them inside the strawberry farm as it is not clean inside, the owner should be washing some for you to eat after you pick!

 

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2. Yangsuli – Yangpyeong Dumulmeori (양평 두물머리) Park

After the strawberry farm, only 5 minutes away is the Yangsuli Dumulmeori park

Introduction and what is special?

• Dumulmeori literally means ‘two water area,’ and refers to the place where Bukhangang River and Namhangang River meet.
• The dock for an ancient-style ferry and weeping willows add to the rustic beauty of this area.
• There is a big picture frame where many people take photos, the background is really like a drawing so really recommend this place
• Another attraction at this site is the three 400-year-old Zelkova trees that appear as one giant tree.
• It is a  privately owned place but there is no admission fee, Dumulmeori remains as a popular site for shooting Korean TV dramas, movies, commercials, wedding pictures as well as nature pictures
• In drama, it was featured in SHE WAS PRETTY with Hwang Jung Eum and Park Seo Jun in 2015. This is where they confessed their love for each other.
• At this place, you can enjoy a serene afternoon with a cup of coffee or desserts

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3. Gangchon Rail park

Gangchon Rail Park, a new popular attraction these days

• When the Gyeongchun Line, a double-tracked railway line connecting Seoul and Chuncheon,  it replaced the Mugunghwa train that traveled this route for 70 years. Built on the discontinued train line, Gangchon Rail Park is a popular tourist attraction where visitors can pedal along old railroad tracks while taking in the lovely Bukhangang River scenery.

How to ride, what to see :

• You will need to book in advance (ask KoreaTravelEasy for discount tickets!)  to book for either 4 -seater or 2 -seater bikes
• You will ride for  6 km in the rail bike on the rail tracks and then change to the romantic train to finish the 2km and at the end you will arrive Gangchon Station

See video below!

• How to go and where: Kimjuyeong Station (take train there or easier to take car as the ending station is not the same )

Operating Hours

• Summer (March ~ October) 10 times daily
• Winter (November ~February) 9 times daily

What’s special about the Gimyujeong Station (김유정역)

• Gimyujeong Station is named after one of the prominent Korean writers of Kim You-jeong from the area. It was first time using the person’s name for the station and located between Gangchon and Namchuncheon Stations in Gyeongchun Line.  Kim You jeong is recognized as the icon of Chuncheon where he was born
• You will see the nice setting of the station (different from other stations) with the books that he wrote in the background! Very interesting!

 

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4.  Uiamho Lake Skywalk (의암호 스카이워크)

• It is only located 10 minutes from the rail park ending stop
• Skywalk has gained attention as a new tourist attraction in uiamho lake of Chuncheon. Located in the middle point of the bike paths and scenic observation deck, the sky walk is a great place for taking pictures.
• Skywalk is a round shaped deck soared about 12 meters in height from the surface of the water. It also has a transparent floor and hand railings, which makes a thrilling experience as you will feel like you are walking on the sky while having the feeling of falling into water!
• Operating Hours : 9:00AM-6:00PM (might be closed due to bad weather)

Visit all the places above a day with KoreaTravelEasy’s private car