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Yangpyeong_Sheep Farm

Interaction begins by feeding hay to baby animals

The Sheep Farm was filled with children’s laughter since early in the morning. In the hands of the young ones who have visited on a field trip from a daycare center and a kindergarten, baskets containing hay were held to feed the baby sheep. These four- to five-year-olds keep shouting, “The baby sheep are so cute!” They cannot wait to feed hay and gently stroke the heads of the sheep, which are excitedly approaching the kids for food.



“Teacher, the sheep seem hungry. Is there any more hay?”


As I saw how joyful the children look at the Sheep Farm and how they love the animals, I thought to myself that there may be kids who fear animals but none of them dislikes animals.



Originally run as a theme park called “Pony World” primarily with horses, Yangpyeong Sheep Farm was changed to the current theme in the spring of 2017. Since the renewed opening, the spectrum of visitors has been diversified from families accompanying children to couples and seniors. More experience programs have also been added to the inexpensive admission.



The admission includes the hay feeding experience, interactions with baby animals and strolls in the farm. Children may feed animals such as rabbits, cows, sheep, and goats that primarily eat hay for meals and race with baby sheep or baby pigs. You can also ride a tractor coach to look around the stroll path on the upper part of the farm. Groups visitors may choose to participate in the experience package in which they make pizza and ice cream with cheese, organic vegetables and organic milk produced at the farm.



But the highlight of the Sheep Farm is the performance of Border Collies, a breed of “sheep-herding dogs.” There is currently no professional organization or trainer in Korea that can train sheep-herding dogs so Mr. Oh Eo-se, the owner of the Sheep Farm, trains Leo (the herding dog at the farm) himself by watching videos filmed overseas. Though Leo is still incapable of herding the sheep, he perfectly catches a frisbee thrown by Mr. Oh by jumping high in the air.



Upon watching Leo quickly elevating his body towards the frisbee, children respond with applause and cheers. The sheep-herding dog performance is held once in the morning and once in the afternoon on weekends or for groups, and you may reach the performing area, a playground near the stroll path, on a tractor coach.


Interactions with animals by seeing, listening, and touching will offer precious experiences for the children who will never forget this event in their lives. The bright, innocent smiles of the children make me hope that they would grow up still in love with animals as they do now.



Written and photos by Kim Sun-joo



TIP.

At 2 km away from Yangpyeong Sheep Farm, there is Freshwater Fish Ecology Learning Center (Gyeonggi Freshwater Fish Research Institute, 23-2 Sanggwang-gil Yongmun-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do). The center, which is operated by Gyeonggi Freshwater Fish Research Institute, may be accessed for free and, along with the Sheep Farm, is a great experience learning site for children as more than 4,700 freshwater fish of 65 species are exhibited.

Freshwater Fish Ecology Learning Center: http://fish.gg.go.kr/



Website http://xn--v41bl7gj3ka67xyt1a.kr/

세부정보

  • Sheep Farm

    Address/ 112, Eungogaet-gil Yongmun-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do

    Contact/ 031-774-4512

    Hours of operation/ 9:30-18:00 (summer), 9:30-17:00 (winter) * Selected experience ends 1 hour prior to the closing of the ticket office

    Closed on/ Mondays

    Admission/ 6,000 KRW (including hay feeding, interaction with baby animals and farm stroll) Selected experience: pizza making, ice cream making, and horseback riding (ponies)

    Parking/ Available

    Website/ http://xn--v41bl7gj3ka67xyt1a.kr/

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