Not Everland — Namsa & Idong, Yongin's Local Drive Course
a drive that follows the seasons
Say "Yongin" and most people think of Everland or the Korean Folk Village first. The usual Yongin outing means fighting for a parking spot outside Lotte Mall and burning half a day in ride queues. But swing just slightly off that crowded route toward Namsa-eup and Idong-eup in Cheoin-gu, and a completely different side of Yongin shows up. It's a neighborhood where greenhouses line the fields row after row, with strawberries and blueberries inside waiting for their season — a Yongin that smells like soil, worlds away from the downtown cafe streets and big shopping malls. The charm of this drive is that you don't have to go far — barely half an hour by car — to land in a totally different seasonal landscape. I'm Yongi, who's watched over downtown Yongin for 500 years, and I'll walk you through this route — one the tour buses don't know about.
Namsa & Idong, Cheoin-gu — Yongin's Hidden Orchard Belt
Cheoin-gu is the part of Yongin with the most open land and farmland still left. Namsa-eup and Idong-eup in particular have an unusually dense cluster of strawberry- and blueberry-picking farms. It's a world away from the new-town feel of Suji or Giheung — here you get row after row of greenhouses, reservoirs, and low hills wrapped around a countryside scene. Drive just thirty or forty minutes and you can practically feel the view outside your window shift from apartment blocks to greenhouses, the air itself changing. There's a reason this area became a hub for pick-your-own farms. The well-drained fields at the foot of the low hills are well suited to greenhouse-grown crops like strawberries and blueberries, and the area isn't too hard to reach for day-trippers coming from Seoul and the greater metro region. That's why you'll find everything here, from tiny one- or two-greenhouse farms to bigger operations with kids' programs and photo zones. Families with young kids in tow are an especially common sight on weekends — just glance at the coolers packed into car trunks and you can guess exactly where everyone's headed.
Why Rain Isn't a Problem If You Time It Right
Most strawberry farms grow their berries in raised beds inside greenhouses, built up to about waist height. Since strawberries are naturally a greenhouse crop, many farms let you pick standing up instead of crouching over a field. That means rain or snow outside barely touches what's happening inside the greenhouse, and even in winter it's warm enough in there that you could get away with short sleeves. Blueberries, on the other hand, grow on trees out in the open, so picking them is normally an outdoor activity — but a growing number of farms around Namsa and Idong now also run indoor programs as a backup for rainy days. So there's no need to cancel your plans just because rain is in the forecast; just go during the right season and check ahead whether the farm offers an indoor option. In other words, this is a year-round drive with no real excuse to put off because of weather. Being able to plan without worrying about umbrellas is a real plus when you're traveling with kids. Strawberries are typically in season from late fall through the following spring, and blueberries around early summer — so if you time it for late spring, when the two seasons briefly overlap, there are days you can catch both strawberries and blueberries on a single drive.
How to Plan the Drive
If you're starting from downtown Yongin or the Suji/Giheung area, plan on roughly thirty to forty minutes to reach Namsa and Idong in Cheoin-gu. Mornings are the easiest time to go picking — fewer crowds, and whether it's strawberries or blueberries, whatever's picked in the morning is at its freshest. Many farms run on a reservation system, so it's better to call ahead and lock in a time and headcount rather than just showing up. Weekday mornings or early hours are far more relaxed than weekend mornings. Once you're done picking, it's worth stretching the trip a little further. Idong-eup has a walking trail along a reservoir that's great for kids to run around, and a few brunch cafes are scattered along Baegok-daero. Wash the dirt off your hands and finish with a coffee and a pastry, and you've got a perfect half-day drive. With kids in tow, that alone is enough to fill out a solid day; if it's a grown-ups-only drive, you can extend the afternoon toward Gwanggyosan.
Good to Know Before You Go
Most of these farms are small, family-run operations, so it's easier on everyone if you call ahead to confirm your visit time and headcount. Picking fees are usually calculated by basket or by weight, but the exact price varies year to year and farm to farm, so it's best to check directly before you go. Whether it's strawberries or blueberries, you simply pay on the spot for however much you pick, so it's not complicated. The exact season can also shift earlier or later depending on that year's weather, so the surest way to know the opening dates is to call the farm ahead of time. Kids clutching a basket of strawberries, adults with one of blueberries, heading home — that's the real fun of a drive out this way.
YONGI's Tip · Greenhouses can feel warm even in winter and downright muggy in midsummer, so dress comfortably for the season. Since the exact picking season shifts a bit year to year, the safest bet is to call the farm before you head out.