Korea, Wow Korea

Exploring Pyeongchang + Gangneung

If you are planning a longer-than-a-day trip to Alpensia Ski Resort in Pyeongchang to Ski, consider going to these places too while you are in the area!

Alpensia Ski Jump Tower

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The ski jump tower is a place where professional skiers train. The slopes are really long and steep. We were obviously not professional skiers so we only went there (it’s the tower on top of the hill on the right side of the photo!) to see the beautiful view of the resort and surrounding mountainous area.

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The beautiful view from the top of the tower

You can take a short monorail up to the base of the tower and then take the lift up to level 4 to the cafe and viewpoint. You will be able to view the sunset from the viewpoint.

Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm (대관령 양떼목장)

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The view of the farm from the top of the hill
Established in 1988, the Daegwallyeong Sheep Farm is the only farm that raises sheep in Pyeongchang. The farm is open all year round, and the most ideal time to visit is between June and August during the grazing season. You can see the sheep herds and various wild plants during this time. Since we visited in December when it was extra cold, all the sheep were inside the barn.

Entrance fee costs 4,000 KRW for adults and 3,500 KRW for children. This includes a free basket of sheep feed. Do come at least an hour before sunset as the farm closes at sunset.

There are 2 main barns for the sheep, one for the adult sheep and one for the lamb (baby sheep). After feeding and petting the sheep, you can wash your hands in the hand washing tent available 🙂

To come to the farm from Seoul, take an express bus from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Hoenggye (횡계) and take a taxi to the farm (Estimated taxi fare is around 8,000 won).

Uiyaji Wind Village (의야지 바람마을)

Uiyaji Wind Village is a mountain village situated on top of Daegwallyeong. At Uiyaji Wind Village, you can enjoy various types of activities such as making cheese or ice cream as well as enjoying the beautiful sight of windmills.
We went to a workshop to make ice cream and pizza and it was definitely a fun experience even for adults!
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We first started with the pizza. We were given pre-made dough that we had to make into the base. Then we added the base sauce and the ingredients we wanted on our pizza before it went into the oven. Although the procedure was really simple because it was designed for children, the teacher was really funny and the activity became fun because of her!

We then continued to make homemade ice cream with just ice and salt. It’s a pretty cool science activity for the children which is again fun and worth trying!

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The best way to get to the village from Hoenggye Bus Terminal is to take a taxi. The estimated travel time is 10 minutes and it would approximately cost 5,000 won. The cost for the ice cream making experience is 20,000 KRW per person and the cost for pizza making is 35,000 KRW per person. Go to the website to make a reservation before your arrival. TIP: Come in a group of 20 or more to get cheap rates on both activities!

Anmok Beach (안목해변)

Anmok Beach is a beach in Gangneung, a city nearby Pyeongchang at the East coast of South Korea. The beach is well known for its “coffee street” with beautiful cafes facing the sea view.

We had a real hard time deciding which cafe to go to as there were so many nice cafes there but we eventually chose the AM Coffee & Bread cafe. They served really nice bread! The beach view from the window seat was very nice too.

To get there, take an express bus bound for Gangneung Express Bus Terminal and then take a 20 minute taxi ride to the beach for around 9,000 KRW. Just show the name of the beach to your taxi driver 🙂

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