Hyundai Department Store's 'Gajok Nongjang' Popular as Suburban Experience Venue

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Family farms, which had lost interest due to fine dust in spring, are regaining popularity at department stores. This is because, amid the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), more people are spending time at family farms near Seoul, where crowds are relatively sparse.

Hyundai Department Store announced on the 26th that it is operating the ‘Green Friends Family Farm’ at ‘Heidi Farm’ located in Cheonggye-dong, Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, and ‘Dolpung Farm’ located in Deogi-dong, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. Unlike previous years, even without separate promotions targeting customers, the first-come, first-served 200 teams were fully booked within a day. Although it was expected that the family farm application rate would be low due to COVID-19, customers showed more interest than anticipated.

A Hyundai Department Store official said, “In recent years, customer interest in family farms has continuously declined due to fine dust in spring, and this year, we initially planned not to operate family farms due to COVID-19. However, many customers expressed a desire for content that can be enjoyed outdoors without crowds, so we postponed the opening by about a month compared to previous years and decided to operate the family farms.”

Among the customers who leased family farms this time, 77% are in their 30s to 40s with children in elementary school or younger. This means 8 out of 10 customers are in their 30s to 40s. Last spring, only 35% of customers who leased family farms were in their 30s to 40s. This is more than double in just one year.

Hyundai Department Store plans to run ‘Family Farm Lectures’ at each farm on weekends, where ‘urban agriculture experts’ will be stationed to teach eco-friendly organic farming methods and vegetable garden management know-how for customer safety and beginner farmers.

To prevent a sudden influx of customers at the farms, lecture times will be staggered at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m., and farming tools (hoes, watering cans) that were previously shared will be provided individually to customers. Temperature checks will be conducted for customers entering the farms, and hand sanitizers, disposable gloves and masks will be provided, along with farm disinfection and other safety measures.

Lee Hyuk, Executive Director of Sales Strategy at Hyundai Department Store, said, “We plan to operate the farms in a way that minimizes contact with other families while complying with social distancing guidelines so that customers can safely enjoy activities.” He added, “We will continue to offer various content that customers can use with peace of mind.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.