Planning a family vacation does not come easy, particularly when you have a myriad of options to choose from. If you’re thinking of going to Asia with the family, then you have to include South Korea on top of your list of choices. South Korea is a modern country which boasts of a high internet connectivity speed and state-of-the-art technological advancements, among others. Despite the modernity of the country, South Korea still embraces its historical and cultural traditions. In this country, you’ll find a great deal of palaces, old villages, and museums which tell of South Korea’s historic past. These are of course on top of the Korean television series you’ve probably watched, which narrate the fascinating political and literary culture of the country. So when you visit South Korea with the kids, expect to witness a graceful combination of the classic and contemporary.
This may surprise you, but travelling to South Korea with your little tots in tow is one of the best and easiest decisions you can have. More than the wide variety of child-friendly activities you can do in South Korea, the country also boasts of an efficient transportation system and a warm welcome for tourists. Going around South Korea is manageable and affordable. Trains and buses provide a comfortable journey for you and your kids. Plus, your eyes will be able to feast on a lush green countryside and spectacular buildings. Moreover, your children can travel at a discounted price or for free. Thus, when you go to South Korea for a promised or a random vacation treat for the kiddos, you only need to plan on the places and things to do in South Korea with kids. In this case, allow us to help you by outlining the most recommended activities for families visiting South Korea.
Cost: Free
One of our top recommended places for kids in South Korea is the Children’s Grand Park in Gwangjin-hu, Seoul. Although this park had been in the area since 1973, it has seen a lot of renovations to continuously wow the children and family visitors. Inside the Children’s Grand Park, your whole family will have loads of fun in the different sections of the park: amusement rides, playgrounds, botanical garden, performance area, picnic area, and a zoo. Most locals even refer to the Children’s Grand Park as the ultimate leisure place for kids in South Korea. Upon entering the park, you can see a fountain which, depending on the season, has a display of lights and melody. From April to October, the music fountain has a 30-minute show every after half an hour, except Tuesdays. Meanwhile, the rainbow fountain has a 50-minute show every after an hour from April to October daily, except Tuesdays. Walking past the fountains, you will then see funny statues and an open area to sit around, before finally reaching the large playground for kids (which converts to a water playground in the summer). Then you’ll come to the amusement park area where there are a variety of rides and activities for the kiddos. The kids can ride little cars, a roller coaster, and even big water balls. They can also try bungee jumping! Moreover, the Children’s Grand Park boasts of a soft shoeless park where you can walk barefoot and feel your feet on the cold ground. We recommend trying this activity as a whole family, since trekking barefoot is a pleasant experience to feel so stress-free and easygoing. A visit to the Children’s Grand Park isn’t complete once you haven’t gone to the zoo, which is home to animals such as elephants, lions, tigers, jaguars, long-horned ox, bears, deer, monkeys, kangaroos, and zebras. Within this zoo, the animals can explore the Badukee Lake where they can train and play with puppies, the Marine House to see the polar bear and some seals, and the Children’s Zoo where they can touch and feed ponies and goats. The Children’s Grand Park also has a pony and camel riding area in case the kids want to try it out, although it’s solely up to your ethical principles to let them do so. When the kids are exhausted from all these wonderfilled activities, you can all sit on the grass and enjoy a hearty picnic together. The Children’s Grand Park is open from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., although the zoo opens late at 10:00 a.m. and closes early at 5:00 p.m. There’s a fee for pony/camel riding as well as the amusement rides. The zoo, botanical garden, playgrounds, and all other park areas are free.
Cost: $3.5
The Seoul Children’s Museum is a recently opened facility located inside the Children’s Grand Park. We made this a separate activity since it requires at least a half-day for kids to thoroughly explore and appreciate this edutainment center. Inside the four-story museum, your kids will be able to enjoy learning through more than 100 interactive exhibits. The basement area focuses on experiences and sensory exhibits, the ground floor on space, art, and nature, the second floor on books and stories, and the top floor on science and culture. Hence, the kids will have a wide range of options on what new to discover and experience. For example, they can have fun learning about forests and nature. They can wear different national costumes and pretend to join a fashion show, make a friend through writing a letter to a stranger, try pumping water in the water play area, or even experience flying their very own spacecraft. The Seoul Children’s Museum also features a motion sensitive animation screen which will surely amaze the kids as they watch themselves being followed by an animated alien projection. These and more await you and your little learners at the Seoul Children’s Museum. It is open daily, except on Mondays, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission tickets cost $3.5 per visitor (ages 4 and up).
Cost: $7
Now let’s go swimming in the hot springs of South Korea which is a time-honored tradition in the country. There are many resorts where you can take the kids for a dip in the hot waters, but we recommend driving outside of Seoul to the Asan Hot Springs Special Tourist Zone. This area actually includes several resorts, namely, Dogo, Asan, and Onyang Hot Springs. The more popular one is the Asan Spavis Hot Springs which has a variety of water park attractions, a golf course, and an outdoor swimming pool. Upon entrance to the resort, you’ll be given an electronic wristband to give you access to the attractions and locker rooms. The kids can enjoy the water slides, relax in a tub with naturally heated water, float down the lazy river, enjoy seeing the man-made caves and waterfalls, go to the jungle gym, or even experience a fish spa where they’ll have loads of ticklish fun from the fish munching on their little feet.
Cost: $6 to $11.45
There’s no better way to spend a precious family bonding moment than sharing a walk together in a tranquil place. In South Korea, you can do just this at Nami Island (Namiseom). A popular tourist destination outside of Seoul, Nami Island is often portrayed as a romantic and beautiful place for relaxing nature walks. And indeed it is! If you browse through the photos of the island, there’s no way you’ll skip it if you’re travelling to South Korea with the kids. You can reach Nami Island through public transport or bus to the Naminara Republic, and then another ferry ride to the island. Located at the heart of the Han River, Nami Island looks like a leaf floating in the water. At Nami Island, you and your kids can walk together in peace while appreciating the beautiful tree lanes, woodlands, and the riverside. You can also do biking together, as there are bicycles for rent in the area. The children can also spot some wildlife (i.e. squirrels, ostriches, deer, ducks, rabbits, turkeys, and all sorts of lovely birds) roaming around the unexploited island. Plus, Nami Island is a beautiful place which doesn’t choose a season to exude its charm. In spring, you will find cherry blossoms lining the riverside. In summer, a lush greenery awaits you. In autumn, the fall foliage across the island is a sight to behold, and in winter, you can delight at the snow-covered tree lanes and birch trees. Entrance to Nami Island costs $11.45 for an adult and $6 for children aged 3 to 12. The entrance tickets (visas) include a round-trip ferry ride to the Island.
Cost: $3 to $5
You can’t leave South Korea without trying their traditional tea culture. Traditional tea houses are still existing across the country to keep the Korean tea custom alive. In the Insadong district, just a side street away from Seoul, is a tea shop called the Shin Old Tea House. In here, you and your kids can experience having tea in conventional Korean style – sipping the tea while sitting on the floor and barefooted. The Shin Old Tea House features colorful tapestries, ceramic teapots, hanging lamps, floor seating with pillows, heated floors, and a large wooden chest. Indeed, you’ll feel as if you’re not living in contemporary times when you enter this tea shop. Of course, their tea menus are exquisite. You can try any of the hot tea flavors and the children can try iced teas. You can also enjoy some sticky rice cakes along with your tea for a perfect afternoon snack.
Cost: $6 to $14
Another fun activity most tourists miss to do in South Korea is letting the children learn and make cheese and ice cream (yep, that’s right!) at the Agroland Taeshin Farm. This family farm can be reached via a two-hour drive from Seoul. Locals often call the Agroland Taeshin Farm as the Tuscany of Korea because of its unique natural beauty. As you enter the vicinity, you can already feel a sense of calm watching the green hills around. Inside the farm, your whole family can enjoy strolling around and trying to spot animals roaming in their natural habitat. The kids can chance upon some goats, sheep, ostriches, horses, donkeys, rabbits, dogs, cows, and even some llamas. Inside the Agroland Taeshin Farm, there is also a pond, a wooden farm playground, and rice paddies. At the farm playground, the kids can enjoy activities, such as feeding the calf, milking the cows, feeding the birds, riding a tractor, and riding a horse or a camel. Plus, the best part of it is making cheese or ice cream from the farm products. You can visit the Agroland Taeshin Farm daily, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in March until November, and from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in December until February. Entrance to the farm costs $6 per visitor (ages 3 and up), while there are separate fees for other activities. Cheese-making and ice cream-making activities are scheduled at 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. They come at a separate cost as well (from $4 to $8).
Cost: $12 to $45
South Korea is famous for its world-class attractions, including the Lotte World in Seoul. This theme park boasts of around 45 attractions which kids (and even adults) will love to try over and over again. Some rides they will most definitely enjoy are the Drunken Basket, Aeronauts Balloon Ride, Gyro Drop, Gyro Spin, and Gyro Swing. They can also watch laser shows, parades of their favorite cartoon characters, and animals at the sea aquarium. Moreover, they can enter the haunted house and test their bravery. Or if they want a rather chill time, they can swim in the pools, do ice skating, munch on kiddie snacks, and play in less adventurous rides, i.e. merry-go-round, ball pits, kiddie fare, and climbing halls. Lotte World is open daily, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Mondays until Thursdays, and from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Fridays until Saturdays. Admission costs $12 per baby, $38 per child, $40 per teen, and $45 per adult. However, if you want to have priority entry to all rides, you can avail of Magic Passes for an extra fee.
Cost: $35 to $53
The popularity of KidZania has already reached several parts of the world, including South Korea. Located in Seoul and in Busan, KidZania is a well-renowned edutainment center where kids can assume they are adults or grownup like you. Inside KidZania, they can take on different professional roles, such as a chef, an architect, a doctor, and a firefighter, among others. They will get salary from working these roles, too. Then, they will be the ones to decide how to spend that money, called KidZos. For example, they can spend it inside a grocery store, save it in a bank, spend it on a nail spa, or eat in a restaurant. Hence, a KidZania experience allows your kids into the life of an adult. So you will be able to teach them how to save and manage a budget.
Cost: $5.2 to $8.3
Opened as a private garden in 1996 by a professor named Sang-kyung Han, the Garden of Morning Calm is a world-class garden located in South Korea. Its name was inspired from the name given to Korea by the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. Today, it is one of the most charming places to visit in the country. With its more than 5,000 species of plants housed inside a 300,000-square meter arboretum, there is no doubt that your morning (or your day) will be a calming one.
Cost: $7 to $8.8
Located 70 meters outside of Seoul, the Anseong Farmland promises of a great time for the kids to play with animals. The farm is located around a hilly landscape which gives it a stunning view even from afar. Upon reaching the farmland, you will be treated to European village-style and old American-style barns. As you enter the Anseong Farmland, you’ll be amazed at the spacious area where tours happen. The farm is divided into five sections: Moomoo Ville, Miru Hill, Deutsche Ville, Horse Ville, and Food Ville. Exploring all these areas of the farm will give kids the chance to ride on some animals, feed them, and even pet the creatures. The Anseong Farmland is open daily, except Mondays, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
These are not all there is to South Korea. In fact, a long list of recommended activities is still waiting to be explored by you. Stay tuned, and share this article with your friends travelling to South Korea soon!
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