Jirisan Cheese Land in Gurye, South Jeolla, is an experience ranch where you can make mozzarella, feed calves and sled on grass, reachable from Seoul by KTX plus a short taxi ride.
For a traveler without a car, the practical route is KTX to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo, then a taxi from Gurye public bus terminal — about 15,000 KRW, since the local buses toward Sandong run infrequently.
This post covers the route step by step, opening hours, the two conflicting admission-fee listings, the experiences on offer, and what else to pair in Gurye.
How to Get to Jirisan Cheese Land From Seoul
| Route from Seoul | KTX to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo, then bus or taxi to Gurye; taxi from Gurye terminal about 15,000 KRW |
|---|---|
| Hours (undated local listings) | 09:00–18:00, open year-round except possible bad-weather closures |
| Admission — KTO English listing | Adults 3,000 KRW / Children 2,000 KRW / Seniors 70+ 1,000 KRW |
| Admission — Korean local listing | Adults 5,000 KRW / Children 3,000 KRW |
| Driving | About 15 minutes from Gurye Hwaeomsa IC, Suncheon–Wanju Expressway |
| Phone to confirm | +82-61-782-2587 · 1330 Travel Hotline +82-2-1330 (English available) |
From Seoul, the trip is a KTX ride to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo, then a bus or taxi for the final leg into Gurye.
The ranch sits at 1590-62, Saneop-ro, Sandong-myeon, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do, next to Gumanji Lake.
A train index for Seoul-to-every-city routes, including Gwangju and Mokpo, is linked in the sources.
The final leg is where you should pick carefully.
Buses toward Sandong do stop at Guman-ri, but they run infrequently, so a taxi from Gurye public bus terminal is the practical choice.
The taxi costs about 15,000 KRW and takes roughly 15 minutes.
- Take the KTX from Seoul to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo.
- Move to Gurye public bus terminal by local bus or taxi.
- Take a taxi from the terminal to the ranch — about 15,000 KRW.
If you are driving from elsewhere in Korea, the ranch is about 15 minutes from Gurye Hwaeomsa IC on the Suncheon–Wanju Expressway.
The large parking lot at the entrance is free, but it is often full on weekends, so arriving before 09:00 during festival season is the safer bet.
When Is Jirisan Cheese Land Open?
Local listings show hours of 09:00–18:00, open year-round except possible closures in bad weather.
Both the hours and the year-round claim come from undated listings, so they have not been confirmed within the last six months.
Weather closures are possible in this mountain area of Jirisan.
When checking a place like this, I look first at whether the hours come from a dated source — undated numbers get a phone call before I trust them.
Call +82-61-782-2587, or use the multilingual 1330 Travel Hotline at +82-2-1330, which serves Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese.
A 2026 local news article also lists 061-783-3987 as an inquiry number.
How Much Does It Cost? Two Listings Disagree
The two published admission fees conflict: the KTO English listing says adults 3,000 KRW, children 2,000 KRW and seniors 70+ 1,000 KRW, while a Korean local listing says adults 5,000 KRW and children 3,000 KRW.
Neither listing carries a date, so neither can be called the current price.
For a family of four using the Korean listing’s figures — two adults and two children — entry would come to 16,000 KRW (2 × 5,000 + 2 × 3,000).
| Visitor group | KTO English listing | Korean local listing |
|---|---|---|
| Adults | 3,000 KRW | 5,000 KRW |
| Children | 2,000 KRW | 3,000 KRW |
| Seniors 70+ | 1,000 KRW | not listed |
Because the difference is 2,000 KRW per adult, the cheapest way to settle it is one phone call to +82-61-782-2587 before you set out.
The sheep-feeding experience is listed at 2,000 KRW, but that figure also comes from an undated source, so confirm it in the same call.
No price at all has been published for the mozzarella-making workshop.
What Can You Do There?
The experience center offers mozzarella cheese making, calf milk feeding, grass sledding, sheep feeding and animal observation, and picnics on the meadow are possible.
Over 130 dairy cows graze in the green meadow pasture next to Gumanji Lake, which is the scenery the KTO description calls the ranch’s specialty.
The operator, Chowon Ranch, started milking with two cows in 1979 and built Jirisan Cheese Land in 2012.
The ranch sells its own yogurt — plain, strawberry and blueberry — plus mozzarella and string cheese, made from pasture-grazed raw milk with HACCP and eco-friendly certification and no additives or stabilizers.
Experience programs take reservations through the ranch’s KakaoTalk channel (search for the ranch’s Korean name, 지리산치즈랜드, on KakaoTalk).
Slots sell out early on Korean holiday weekends, and one visitor group was turned away after reservations closed.
If you are taking kids, reserve experience slots via KakaoTalk ahead of a Korean holiday weekend.
A kindergarten field trip is reported, which fits the family-outing profile.
When Are the Flowers in Bloom?
The yellow narcissus hill starts blooming in mid-to-late March, with purple muscari and allium adding color in the following weeks.
Tens of thousands of narcissus cover the slope above the lake.
Bloom status changes weekly with the temperature.
The known photo spot is a single pine tree at the hilltop with Gumanji Lake behind it, and the sloped meadow keeps the horizon lines clean in photos.
Check Instagram tags for the site the week you go to see current bloom conditions.
Put mid-to-late March on the calendar if the flower hill is the reason for the trip.
What Else Is Nearby in Gurye?
Gurye Lake Park, the Gumanji Reservoir and Jirisan itself pair naturally with a ranch visit, since the ranch sits beside the lake.
The-K Jirisan Family Hotel is close by, family-sized and with hot-spring baths.
| Stop | What it is |
|---|---|
| Gurye Lake Park | Lakeside park near the ranch |
| Gumanji Reservoir | Reservoir adjacent to the pasture, with the known single-pine photo spot |
| Jirisan | The mountain area itself, for trails and scenery |
| Sandong-myeon restaurant street | Sansuyu (cornel) stir-fried pork and mountain-vegetable set menus |
| Gurye wheat bakery | Local bakery nearby |
If I were taking kids, I would reserve the experience slots via the KakaoTalk channel before anything else — holiday weekends have seen groups turned away after reservations closed, and that is the one part of the day you cannot improvise once you arrive.
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👉 KTO English listing for Jirisan Cheese Land
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Sources
- Address (api.visitkorea.or.kr)
- KTO English listing: history, experiences, address, phone, f (english.visitkorea.or.kr)
- Korean listing: 5,000/3,000 KRW, 09:00-18:00, free parking, (xn--ok0b236bp0a.com)
Before You Go
- The two published admission fees conflict (3,000 vs 5,000 KRW for adults) and neither listing is dated — the number to confirm first is which one applies on your visit.
- Hours are listed as 09:00-18:00 with no fixed closing day, but bad-weather closures are possible — worth checking on the morning you go.
- Experience slots sell out early on Korean holiday weekends — reserve via the KakaoTalk channel if your dates overlap one.
- The narcissus bloom shifts week to week with temperature — check recent visitor photos before planning the trip around it.
- A taxi from Gurye terminal (about 15,000 KRW) saves waiting for the infrequent Sandong buses.
FAQ
Q. How do I get to Jirisan Cheese Land from Seoul, and when is it open?
Take the KTX to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo, then a taxi from Gurye terminal (about 15,000 KRW). Listed hours are 09:00–18:00 year-round, but the listing is undated — confirm by phone.
Q. Which admission fee is current: 3,000 KRW (KTO English) or 5,000 KRW (Korean listing)?
Neither can be confirmed, because both listings are undated and they disagree. Call +82-61-782-2587 before you go.
Q. Do experience programs like mozzarella making need advance booking?
Reservations go through the ranch’s KakaoTalk channel, and slots sell out early on Korean holiday weekends — one group was turned away after reservations closed.
Q. When are the yellow narcissus flowers in bloom?
Mid-to-late March is the start, with muscari and allium after; bloom changes weekly with temperature, so check Instagram tags the week you visit.
Q. Is Jirisan Cheese Land good for kids?
The experience set — mozzarella making, calf milk feeding, grass sledding — matches a family outing, and kindergarten field trips are reported.
Before you go, call +82-61-782-2587 or the 1330 hotline to confirm the fee and hours — then reserve your cheese-making slot.
Cover photo: AI-generated illustration (dairy cows pasture) — AI-generated image, illustrative only
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