Living
South Korea: Seoul Grand Children's Park offers diversions of varying speeds
Stars and Stripes
October 11, 2010
The Children's Grand Park has beds of flowers that bloom during the spring. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
The Children's Grand Park has beds of flowers that bloom during the spring. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Natalya Jimenez avoids bumping into another car during a day of fun at the Children's Grand Park in Seoul. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Diego and Natalya Jimenez use their boats in the water to avoid the excessive South Korean heat during a trip to the Children's Grand Park. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
The Children's Grand Park is popular for its high-speed rides, to include the Crazy Dance, Crazy Mouse and the 88 Train. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
The Children's Grand Park is popular for its high-speed rides, to include the Crazy Dance, Crazy Mouse and the 88 Train. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
The Children's Grand Park is popular for its high-speed rides, to include the Crazy Dance, Crazy Mouse and the 88 Train. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
The Music Fountain, where hundreds of visitors gather at night to witness a spectacular showing of lights, is found at the Children's Grand Park. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
Natalya Jimenez, left, looks at beds of flowers that bloom during the spring to produce abundant color. (Alfredo Jimenez/Stars and Stripes)
My family recently spent a fun-filled day at the Seoul Grand Children’s Park. Not knowing what to expect after my wife spotted the park’s Web vsite while surfing the Internet, we were pleasantly surprised at what we found.
Flowering trees, a pond and fields of grass for picnicking and play were a welcome sight for my wife and me. But a zoo, circus, aviary and amusement park is what caught the attention of my 8-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
There is no fee to visit the park and frolic in the grass. But my kids, Natalya and Diego, quickly tired of that and I soon found myself forking over close to 60,000 won ($50) for passes for the amusement park for my daughter and me. My son was free.
There was a variety of rides, some of which my children wanted no part of. Two in particular — 88 Train and Crazy Mouse — had riders screaming, yet satisfied. But for Natalya and Diego, getting on the train that cruised through the park and ramming into one another in bumper cars was where the fun was. However, we did brave a ride that had us spinning in a type of hamster wheel, which left my stomach churning and my daughter screaming.
We then made our way to the zoo and aviary to check out the animals. It’s great park, with a lot of attractions geared toward children. So if you have a quiet day picnicking in the park in mind, you might want to leave the kids behind.
know & go
Hours: Open all year, 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Botanical Gardens, zoo, close at 6 p.m.)
Admission: Free admission to park, but there are fees for various side venues.
Directions: Subway line 5, Achasan Depot, Exit 4 (rear entrance); Subway line 7, Children Grand Park, Achasan Depot, Exit 4 (main entrance)
Web SITE: www.childrenpark.or.kr. In English: www.sisul.or.kr/global/eng/park/park01.jsp