Revisited: Children’s Grand Park (southeast Seoul)
Author’s note: ‘Revisited’ posts are intended to be a fresh look at a place I’ve visited before. In many cases, it will have been years between visits, and offers a chance to see a place with a fresh set of eyes (and more than likely, a much better camera than I had before!). While they won’t replace the old post, directions and information for visitors will always be included.
Being surrounded by kids is fairly normal for most expats in Korea. In most cases, our teaching jobs depend on it. So what of masochists must we be for choosing to spend a Sunday afternoon at a park dedicated to children?
The silly kind, that’s what.
First opened on Children’s Day (May 5th) in 1973, the half-million square meter park has almost anything the under-10 set could ever dream of having. Beyond the biggest playground I’ve seen in this country, a number of pavilions let children get up close and personal with the animals. The botanical garden may be more appealing to the daters, but the amusement park and rides are enough to wear out even the bigger kids.
No trip is complete without taking in sculptures of Avatar characters, created from any number of metal parts.
“I would’ve picked Duckie.” Huh? If you’re a child of the 80′s and knew it was a cultural reference to John Hughes, all is well.
“Drugs are all very well ngfxhkjnu.” Um, not sure where this one is going…
My girlfriend has recently picked up a macro lens for her DSLR, and has spent much of her time shooting insects and flowers. Today, however, she decided she wanted another challenge – animals. Children’s Grand Park happens to have a decent zoo, and being within walking distance of her house makes it a perfect place to relax.
Sure, the animals are cool and all, but this was the largest collection of homo sapiens wearing silly t-shirts I’ve seen in a long time. The one above: “Misses Memories It doesn’t foriger”…
A rather gruesome way to show how the vulture eats.
The chimpanzees had it pretty easy - when people weren’t trying to feed it, they would be climbing up and down the steel grids.
The meerkats, anyone?
Just in case you’ve always wanted to have ears like the fennel fox (not pictured, but sitting still inside its house as if confused by all the excitement).
“PUNKY STAR”
“PUNKY DOES NOT LIKE THINGS AS HOT AS I”
“YOUNG PEOPLE IN ROCK…(?)”
“LATE 1980′S BRITAIN HAD THE SHORT, PUNKY LOOK
BUT ALSO THE MAINSTREAM, BIG-HAIRED DYNASTY GIRLS.”
Um, WTF? Where are people finding these shirts?
Some sculptures date back to the park’s opening – a nearby one features three little boys riding on a dolphin.
Some more statues can be found in a United Nations Peacekeeping Garden, dating back to April 1974.
Pororo, defaced by K-pop fans
To be clear, this isn’t intended to be a weird destination. It isn’t, really. It is, however, an intriguing look at how the locals entertain their kids, and what they (both the parents and kids) wear.
Ratings (out of 5 taeguks - How do I rate destinations?):
Ease to arrive:
Foreigner-friendly:
Convenience facilities:
Worth the visit:
Name: Children’s Grand Park (어린이대공원)
Address: Seoul, Gwangjin-gu, Neung-dong 18
Korean address: 서울특별시 광진구 능동 18
Directions: Children’s Grand Park station, line 7, exit 1. Head to street level and look right for the main entrance.
Hours: 5am-10pm to the park; 10am-5pm to the zoo (until 6pm during the summer months)
Admission: free admission to the park and zoo – exhibits and rides start around 4,000 won
Phone: 02-450-9311
Website: http://www.sisul.co.kr
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gwern0
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