Preschool Adventures in Seoul: Ichon Hangang Park

After having lived here for over a year and a half, I finally made my way over to Ichon Hangang Park, despite it being so close. Although in my defense, part of it is because we live so close to Hangang Yeouido Park. I wish we had found this place sooner! Hangang Yeouido Park is expansive and has a very open layout, which makes it great for activities such as flying kites, riding bikes, and throwing frisbees, but Ichon Hangang Park, while by no means small, has a much more cozy feel to it, particularly the playground area, and offers spaces for older kids who are past the playground age.

My kids and I made our way there around 10am on a weekday, as always, with the hopes that the playground won’t be too crowded. Unfortunately, I wasn’t aware that this particular day was Korean Labor Day and kids were out of school. Oops… Luckily, we were there early enough to claim one of the tables and for the kids to have free reign over the place for a little while before the masses of moms and kids started showing up and literally setting up camp. 😉

The playground at Ichon Hangang Park is definitely one of the best that I’ve been to. The Children’s Woodland Playground at Seoul Forest is also amazing, but this one is far more toddler-friendly. The large playground structure has a number of things to climb and slides (or “weeeeees” as my littlest one calls them), but the best part is, there are no gaping holes or areas without a railing for fearless toddlers to fall or jump from. And not having to hover over my child as she plays is worth A LOT. During our 2 hours there, my daughter still managed to tumble down a slide head-first and come home with a scraped knee and a few fresh bruises, but this is The Way of the Toddler.

For older kids, the playground features a zip-line and a large rope/climbing structure. And when your kids tire of running and climbing and swinging and sliding, there’s a large sandpit, otherwise known as Endless Fun because what child doesn’t love sand? My only mistake was not taking along our sand box toys, although I think I guilt-tripped a reluctant little girl into sharing her toys with my kids!

In addition to the expansive playground, there’s a large shaded area with benches for parents to sit and watch the kids play, and if you’ve got older kids who are into skateboarding or playing basketball–this place has it all!

There’s also a public bathroom nearby–always important when out and about with small children.

Getting There:

Ichon Hangang Park is within walking distance of Ichon Station (Yongsan Visitor Gate), but it is also an easy drive if the thought of navigating the busy Seoul streets with small children doesn’t overly appeal to you.

By subway/walking: from Ichon Station, come out Exit 4. Immediately to the left as you exit the station is a walking path that takes you out to a main road. Continue straight until you reach the riverside! There will be a parking lot and a 7-Eleven to the right. Take the path to the right and walk past the soccer field. There’s an additional field, then the playground on the right.

Driving: If you’re using a navigation system, here’s the address: 62, Ichon-ro 72 gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

From post (Visitor Gate/Gate 13), make a right onto the street just outside the gate, then make the first left (over the railroad tracks). Continue down the road until you reach a T-intersection. At the T-intersection, make a left. At the 5th intersection (Ichon-ro 72-gil), make a right (there’s a sign for Hangang Park). Continue down the street, under the overpass and the parking lot is on the right.

Parking is plentiful and inexpensive. It’s 1,000W for the first 30 minutes, then 200W for each additional 10 minutes for a daily maximum of 10,000W

Dibo Village, Mokdong

This week’s Preschool Adventures in Seoul took us south of the Han River to a themed children’s indoor play park called Dibo Village (website in Korean only). (There’s another Dibo Village in Jung-gu, which I’m sure we’ll visit sometime in the near future!) This particular Dibo Village was fantastic, and one huge plus–the food was actually pretty decent, something I can’t say for many of the kid’s cafes and indoor play places we’ve been to. And for moms who don’t often get to enjoy a nice, quiet meal, this is important!

Of the indoor play parks that we’ve been to, Dibo Village is one of the best, not just because of the food. 😉 It’s well-organized, and there is a plethora–yes, I said plethora!–of things for kids to do. Of course, they have the obligatory bounce house, ball pits, and playground structure, which are sure to keep your kids busy for hours, but Dibo Village also offers a theater show with real characters in costume, cooking classes, arts and crafts classes, a sandbox, and a 3D show!

All of the organized activities are on a schedule, and times are very clearly listed on signs outside the various classroom/play areas. Instructor certifications are also posted outside the classrooms (for example, the instructor who leads the cooking class is trained and certified to teach cooking classes). Most of these activities are about 15-20 minutes long, so your kids will have plenty of time to play and participate in the activities. The language barrier is always less of an issue for kids than it is for adults, but don’t worry because the manager of this Dibo Village SPEAKS ENGLISH! He was very friendly and worked hard to ensure that the children (as well as the moms) were having a great time.

Also, of all the kids’ play parks that I’ve been to, the staff here (not only the manager) was very attentive to the children’s needs, particularly in the baby/toddler play area, making sure that the littles ones had a great time without being trampled by rambunctious older kids.

Here are a few tips to make your trip to Dibo Village a little easier:

1. The best time to come is after 3pm on weekdays. Weekday mornings are typically very busy with large groups from local preschools. We arrived at 10:30am, and by 10:45am, about 6 different preschool groups arrived. It was loud and crowded until the Dibo show started and most of the children went to the theater.

2. Rooms are available for birthday parties. Parties require a minimum of 10 children paying admission and use of the party room is free. Call ahead though to make a reservation.

3. Underground parking is available for free (with validation–be sure to take your parking ticket up to have it validated) for 2.5 hours. We were there for almost 3 hours and parking was 1,000W.

4. Lockers are provided free of charge (to the right as you enter the play area).

 

5. The menu at Han’s Cafe is in both English and Korean. There’s a small children’s menu as well, but small plates are also available to split larger/adult portion items.

Cost: For 2 hours of playtime

0-12 months: free

13-24 months: 9,000W

2 yrs + : 15,000W

Adults: 5,000W

For each additional 10 minutes of playtime: 1,000W/kids and 500W/adults

 

Getting There:

Address for driving: YangCheon-gu, Mok 1-dong, 923-6 Korean Artin Center, 7th floor

By subway: Omokgyo Station, Line 5. Exit 2. Walk straight out exit 2. The Artin Center building is on the second block down on the right side.

Website: www.dibovillage.kr (Korean only)

Phone: 02.2655.3450

Gwacheon National Science Museum

This week’s adventure took us to the Gwacheon National Science Museum, which is a quickly 18 minute subway ride from Ichon Station (no transfers!). However, my brother offered to drive since he wanted to go too, so I didn’t have to brave the subway this week with 3 little ones in tow (thank goodness for big brothers who aren’t afraid to drive in this crazy city!). However, the subway station is very convenient and the exit takes you right up to the ticket office, which is in front of the main entrance.

We arrived around 10am, and although from what I’d read, I’d heard that tickets were 4,000KRW/adult (children are free), we actually only paid 2,000KRW/adult and 2,000KRW for parking because there’s a special going on until March 28, 2014! 50% off tickets on weekdays! The planetarium was an additional 1,000KRW (normally 2,000KRW), but because there’s so much to see in the museum itself, we opted for just the museum portion this time.

Once inside the museum, the kid’s exhibition is immediately to the right behind the escalators. It’s designed for elementary school children specifically, and although there’s plenty for preschoolers to do, there’s also quite a lot that they’re not old enough to do. Staff is on site to make sure that children are old enough to play on some of the equipment. If you have a child who tends to have epic meltdowns when not allowed to do fun things like ride the giant slide (for ages 7 and up), then it may be best to avoid this portion of the museum! 😉

My kids found plenty of other things to do in the kid’s exhibition, despite their disappointment at not being allowed to ride the funnest thing they’d ever seen.

Although the kids were having a great time playing in the kids’ exhibition, we knew that there were many, many other fun things for them to see, so we dragged our reluctant children out and upstairs to the space exploration exhibit. And the kids LOVED it. Then the dinosaur/natural science/animal exhibit. Another hit.

The animal/natural science exhibition was a really big hit with the kids, not only because it included dinosaurs (and what kid isn’t absolutely fascinated by dinosaurs??), but because there’s also a live fish/aquarium portion that includes a tank of the garra ruff fish, more popularly known as Doctor Fish. You know, the fish that nibbles on dead skin cells? The kids put their little fingers in the holes and exploded into fits of laughter. It was definitely a great sight to see. 🙂

There were also two other exhibition spaces that we didn’t even have a chance to visit since it was lunchtime by the time we finished up in the High Tech exhibit. I should add that there are a number of rides/experiences that older kids can enjoy (the anti-gravity machine, the 4D bus, etc.). You simply have to sign up for the rides at the information desk. Space is VERY limited, so if you have an older child who would enjoy this, get there early and sign up. 

We all went into the cafeteria for lunch, and there are standard Korean lunch fare options–bibimbap, bulgogi and rice, udon noodles, katsu, as well as a children’s menu (spaghetti, hot dogs, etc.) that’s served with juice and jello. Had I known that the kids items were served with juice and jello, I probably would have ordered off it for both my kids because we were on the brink of WWIII when one child realized HE didn’t get juice and jello… One positive thing that I noticed was that despite the massive amount of people in the cafeteria, food was prepared very quickly. Definitely a plus when you’re with young children. However, I was surprised that they didn’t have high chairs…

After lunch, I discovered that there’s also a very large room with tables/chairs for people who bring their own lunch. It was far quieter than the cafeteria and a great option for the budget-minded family who wants to bring their own food. 

On our way out, we decided to let the children play for a while at the playground just outside the main entrance. And playgrounds are always a good time!

And finally, as we made our way back to the parking lot, the kids wanted to walk through the dinosaur park, climb on a “mountain” and RAWR! like a dinosaur. 

And within minutes of getting in the car for the drive back home, my baby girl was fast asleep. 🙂

We will definitely be visiting the National Science Museum again. There’s so much we didn’t get a chance to see and do!

Website: Gwacheon National Science Museum (English site)

Visitor Information (hours, ticket pricing, subway information, parking information, address, etc.)

Crochet Hats

Time spent with friends is the best kind. Any why wouldn’t Optimus Prime and Bumblebee want to play with a cute little sheep at the playground?

Seoul Forest

This week, I wanted to enjoy the beautiful weather we’ve been having and took my babes to Seoul Forest. It was a bit of a trek for us via the subway, but closer than Children’s Grand Park, and despite not having a zoo or a museum (which Children’s Grand Park does), we had so much fun.

One of the big playgrounds there is one of the best I’ve been to, although it’s not quite 19 month old safe. There’s a large kid-friendly climbing wall and a gigantic slide that my boys really got a kick out of. My daughter loved it too, which made for an exhausting morning for me.

Right next to the playground is this large sculpture, which is actually a climbing structure for kids. It’s recommended for kids slightly older than our crew of 4 year olds, and Lincoln got his pants stuck on one part and I had to climb in to unhook him… But it’s still pretty cool.

There were loads of things for the kids to climb on and jump off of and crawl through… Overall, a great playground adventure!

Then, we wandered around and found some deer to feed! Apparently, there’s also an insect gallery and a butterfly garden, but since we couldn’t spend all day there, we had to leave those for another time.

We’ll definitely make another trip there in the near future–before it gets too cold. There place was just too big for us to try and see it all at once. I’d say that Seoul Forest was a big hit with our little guys!

Yeouido Park

When you live in a city that’s cut in half by a river, it’s common to find yourself doing most of your daily living on the side of the river you live on. No matter how many bridges there are that cross the river, in a city like Seoul, the bridges are always backed up. However, on the bright side, we live very close to Mapo Bridge and with Chuseok this week, traffic has been absolutely heavenly. I just wish driving was like this all the time!

Anyway, after months of wanting to go, I finally made the drive across the bridge to Yeouido Park. My boys have been there many times this summer with their fun-loving uncle, but it’s been too hot to take my youngest, so I’ve never been. It was a bit of an impromptu trip, and I definitely could have planned a little better… But we had a blast.

I was pretty sure that the water fountains that run during the summer months had been turned off, so I wasn’t anticipating any water play… However, there was still plenty of water for the kids to play in. And when there’s water, they really can’t help themselves!  I can only imagine the kind of fun kids must have in the summer when the fountains are on!

Thankfully, my kids weren’t the only ones who threw themselves into the water fully dressed!

As for the rest of the park, there are walking paths, bike lanes, bike rentals (including bikes with kiddie seats on them–I was hoping for a bike with a trailer to put 2 kids in at once, but they didn’t have any. Since the kids outnumber the adults in my family, renting bikes isn’t in our future…), playgrounds, plenty of grass for kids to run around, ducks to feed, beautiful views, street food… And of course, the obligatory photo ops that are all over Korea!

We had a blast and will definitely make the trip across Mapo Bridge again to visit this park. The nearest subway stop is actually right next to the park–Yeouinaru Station on Line 5 if you don’t feel like driving. 

Children’s Grand Park

This beautiful Labor Day, we decided to make our way over to the Children’s Grand Park. From our place by the Mapo subway station, it took about 45 minutes to get there. It’s was a relatively easy trip there, and we arrived around 9:30, just as our friends arrived at the park as well, so at the very least, our trip out there was a success. 😉

The park was almost entirely deserted at that time, so we were able to take a calm, leisurely stroll through the park, although the boys pretty much beelined for the zoo portion of the park. There’s so much to see that one day isn’t nearly enough to take advantage of all it offers. The park entrance is free, and I had read on the website that there’s a fee for the zoo, but for whatever reason, there were no tickets to purchase and we were able to wander around the zoo for free. At the entrance, there’s a place to rent strollers (3,000W), which would be great for people who don’t want to struggle with a stroller on the subway.

On our way to the zoo, the kids discovered a sculpture garden, a playground, and plenty of space to run around. As I mentioned, the park was pretty empty at this hour, so for little ones who live in the city and are constantly surrounded by people and cars, being able to run free without worry is such a beautiful thing.

The zoo is definitely tailor-made for little ones. It’s quite unlike any zoo we ever visited in the States, and you’ll probably find yourself thinking about the rather small confines that the animals are in…but the kids will enjoy seeing the animals up close and personal. We’ve been to a number of zoos in the States, but I can honestly say that I’ve never been so close to lions and cheetahs and jaguars (separated by glass, of course!), and I was surprised at how big they are–particularly the lion.

As with all Korean parks, there were plenty of places for cute little photo ops…

For Lincoln, no trip to the zoo is complete unless he sees a turtle, so we had to make sure to find this little guy. 

  
 And what parent doesn’t love a little adult humor in a children’s park, albeit unintentional?

The zoo also offers camel rides for kids and adults and pony rides just for kids (5,500W for adults, 3,000W for kids).

After the zoo, we ate lunch at Han’s Cafe right outside the zoo portion of the park. In retrospect, we should have searched a bit more for another place to eat because all this place had was burgers, fried chicken, and various types of katsu. We’re not big on fried food and would definitely would have preferred some bibimbab or naengmyun… So next time we venture out there, finding the cafeteria will definitely be on our list of priorities!

As we headed out of the park, the boys really wanted to go inside the botanical garden where we found an area full of bonsai trees that were 100 to 200 years old. I don’t know that the boys appreciated it, but the adults thought it was pretty cool. The kids, on the other hand, were pretty impressed with the little pond FULL of goldfish. The boys found this little bridge with a kid-sized bench for another little photo op. And look how happy they are about it! 😉

And finally, as we walked back towards the entrance, the music fountain was more excitement than the kids could handle. They ran past the rather ineffective barrier and ran through the jets that play along to the music. Luckily, we brought a change of clothes for them so they didn’t have to ride the subway home soaking wet.

We only saw a small fraction of what the park has to offer, so we’ll definitely be making a trip out here again soon. There’s the new Seoul Children’s Museum, an amusement park with rides for little ones, as well as a Kids Auto Park that offers driving classes for kids, complete with mini cars and tiny little roads for them to drive on. There’s so much more to see and do here–another adventure at the Children’s Grand Park is definitely on the horizon.

Yongsan Family Park

Despite having lived in Seoul for 10 months already (yeah, when did that happen?!?), we made our very first trip to the Yongsan Family Park. Located a very short walk from the Visitor Gate/Gate 13 and the Ichon Subway station, it’s a great location for anyone who lives on or around post. None of my children like big crowds, so we tend to avoid public places on the weekends, particularly those that attract families with children. It just gets a bit chaotic, and my boys have realized over the past several months that they don’t like being stared at while trying to play. So we decided to go right after breakfast and arrived at the park around 9:30am. There’s a very small parking lot (maybe 25-30 spaces) that’s tucked away under an overpass. When we arrived, there were about 3 other cars in the lot. We were given a ticket when entering the parking lot with a time stamp in order to pay on our way out (FYI, we were there for a little over 2 hours and paid 2,400W when we left).

Right next to the parking lot are the restrooms and a handful of picnic tables in a shaded area–great place for a picnic, especially if you don’t feel like lugging 3 kids and bags and/or a cooler full of food to another picnic location. My kids don’t care where they eat. As long as they eat!

There’s also a very convenient little map of the park, labeled in English, at the entrance of the park. The walkways are very well-maintained and if you’re looking for a place to just go for a walk or a run, this park would be great. It’s quite stroller friendly, and little ones would have plenty to look at and admire while mama gets a workout.

When we got there, some people were working on the vegetable garden, and my boys, who love tomatoes and zucchini were quite impressed with the garden. It’s really too bad that we don’t have a yard here in Seoul, although I imagine a container garden up on our balcony would do really well. There’s also a barefoot path through the vegetable garden, so this would be a great way to teach your little ones about how food is grown while letting them get some dirt between their toes. And don’t worry–there’s a water faucet to clean your feet afterwards!

We wandered through the park, tossing around a football and a frisbee we brought with us while trying to prevent our ever-curious and perpetually suicidal 18 month old daughter from falling into the little pond and stream.

The only thing Miss Penny Penny is afraid of, apparently, are grates. She won’t step on them. Ever.

We only made it halfway through the park because the kids were distracted by the playground. It’s a lovely little play area with a cute little mushroom house, flowers, benches and picnic tables as well as the closest thing I’ve seen to sand at a playground (it’s more like sand mixed with gravel, but the kids didn’t seem to mind!).

My only complaint about the playground area is that although the rest of the park is very well shaded, the playground itself has no shade. I don’t mind the kids getting some sunlight, especially after what felt like a ridiculously long monsoon season this year, but we couldn’t stay out here for long stretches, especially with my littlest one’s fair skin. On the bright side, there are restrooms and a water fountain very conveniently located by the playground.

There’s also a SUPER LARGE bench, which not only makes for a great photo op…

…but offers little boys another opportunity to give their mother a heart attack.

We ended our morning trip to the Yongsan Family Park with some juice and a snack at one of the picnic tables. All in all, I’d say it was a lovely little adventure!