All We Imagine as Journey — Everything We Imagine Travel to Be, Daehan Ranch in Jeju

There is a young man who settled in Jeju to become a farmer. This is the story of Kim Sangjin, who runs the YouTube channel ‘Twenty-Three-Year-Old Kim Sangjin.’ Recently, together with two colleagues, he transformed part of a grassland that had been closed to the public for 70 years—where only horses roamed—into a café and experience space. When we emailed to ask what kind of time they hoped visitors would enjoy at Daehan Ranch, they sent back a detailed *response.

Interviewer Parc Jinmyoung
Interviewee The Daehan Ranch Team
*Most questions were answered jointly by the Daehan Ranch team, while the parts spoken by Kim Sangjin, who led the space branding, are marked separately.

First, could you briefly introduce Daehan Ranch?
It’s a ranch dedicated to racehorses, established about 70 years ago. All kinds of work related to horses takes place here, from breeding and boarding to race training. Bounded by a river that once cut it off from the outside world, the property spans about 300,000 pyeong, of which 20,000 pyeong have been open to the public since this past April. The old warehouse building has been transformed into a café, and part of the pasture has been opened as a space for photo shoots, horse-walking programs, and more.

How did you come to be connected with Daehan Ranch?
The three of us each arrived here through different paths. Director Lee Okhui of a rental car company, who was looking for a campervan site, first heard about this place from an acquaintance. Later, Sangjin (Kim), who had come to Jeju to farm tangerines, and Jeongwon (Mun), who was traveling at the time, joined in. We heard that, given its charm—steeped in both history and nature—several major corporations had also proposed collaborations.

I heard that Sangjin grows tangerines in Jeju while also running a travel agency called Nomad Wave (formerly Jejakso). Why did you start the agency?
Sangjin Most people define travel as a healing time spent enjoying beautiful nature and delicious food. For me, it’s the opposite. I think travel is about enduring hardships you’d never feel in daily life, and turning the fatigue from that process into memories. I wanted to show people the value of suffering through a journey. To add a slightly old-fashioned (?!) thought—these days, people seem to avoid difficult travel. It’s a shame to see travelers who cross the whole country with just a backpack disappearing, and that’s partly why I started the agency.

How did the cross-country walking program ‘Just Walking’ come about?
Sangjin I think most people only ‘watch’ rather than truly ‘experience.’ It’s the same with travel—people tend to skip over the process of getting to a destination. That seems natural given how convenient transportation like cars has become, but choosing to walk forces you to physically experience that process of arrival. I believe real travel begins through seeing, feeling, and learning along the way. I wanted to show that there’s a kind of beauty you can only discover by pursuing inefficiency.

What did you feel when you first saw the vast pastures of Daehan Ranch?
I found myself letting out a sigh, thinking, ‘Wow, I’m just a tiny creature within this great nature.’ Past a path lined with tall trees, the grassland and bamboo forest unfold one after another, and I was overwhelmed by that grand, majestic scenery. The view stretched out in every direction without obstruction, and Hallasan stood out clearly. It genuinely felt like stepping into a nature documentary. Daehan Ranch is so vast that its scale is hard to grasp even when looking at a map.

Why did you decide to turn this place into a café and experience space?
We wanted people to spend leisurely time at the café while feeling closer to Jeju’s nature through experiences they couldn’t have anywhere else. We designed it so many people could enjoy the vast space in various ways. We’d like it to be a space used by people of all ages, as well as their pets.

What did you focus on most in branding the space at Daehan Ranch?
Sangjin I think I became obsessed with beauty. I once heard that the old Korean word ‘areum’ (beauty) originally meant ‘myself.’ Honestly, when we first started branding, we tried to imitate that trendy social-media aesthetic—buying fashionable furniture and lighting, setting up a neat photo zone. But that wasn’t Daehan Ranch’s true beauty. Instead, we pulled out old objects and chairs that had been sitting in the ranch warehouse, cleaned them up, and simply tidied the outdoor spaces to make them easier for guests to use. That’s when I realized: ‘This place was already complete from the start. All we need to do is explain its strengths in a way people can easily understand.’ I think I focused on gently conveying the beauty I discovered here, without overdoing it.

On your YouTube channel ‘Twenty-Three-Year-Old Kim Sangjin,’ I saw videos of you gradually renovating an old guesthouse. I heard you’ll soon open a guesthouse in Jeju too—what does running a place to stay mean to you?
Sangjin When I was twenty, I opened a donation-based guesthouse in Chuncheon called ‘Sangjin’s Travel House.’ There was no fixed price—guests paid however much they wanted to stay. Since I traveled alone a lot from a young age, I often ran into trouble finding accommodations, either because they were too expensive or because I was a minor. I wanted everyone to be able to travel freely without such difficulties, which is why I started running guesthouses.

Is there a trip you remember most vividly?
Sangjin The hitchhiking trip I took the summer I was eighteen! Over five nights and six days, I traveled from Haenam to Busan through sixteen separate hitchhikes. I set out with only 3,000 won as emergency cash, but by the end of the trip, I had 40,000 won left in my pocket—money that people I met along the way had given me.

You don’t seem afraid to leave familiar places and stay somewhere unfamiliar. I’m curious what it’s like living on the boundary between traveler and resident.
Sangjin I adapt quickly, so as soon as I start living somewhere new, I become a local there. So I don’t think I’ve ever really been someone caught between two worlds. If there’s a downside, it’s that I don’t feel much excitement even in new places anymore—every place ends up feeling like somewhere I’ve always lived.

Where’s your next destination?
Sangjin Right now, my plan is to settle in Jeju, but I have an ultimate goal beyond that. I want to create a youth village where many young people can pursue their curiosity and chase their own dreams. Wherever I can make that youth village a reality—that will be my next destination.

What do you hope travelers experience at Daehan Ranch?
Be sure to try the hammock set up inside the bamboo forest. Lying there, listening to the bamboo leaves rustling in the wind as light filters through and falls across you, feels like healing for both body and mind. ‘Horse therapy’—walking and spending time with the horses—is also a unique experience, and I highly recommend trying it.