Children's Grand Park, Seoul

Children's Grand Park (Korean: 어린이대공원) or Seoul Children's Grand Park is a park complex in Gwangjin District, Seoul, South Korea. Facilities at Children's Grand Park include hills and hiking trails, Zoo, garden, and an amusement park. Children's Grand Park is a leisure facility for families, offering a botanical garden, amusement facilities, and diverse performance events. The facility first opened on Children's Day (May 5), 1975. It has a number of attractions for children, including a Marine Animal House with seals and eurasian otter, a Small Animal Village, and also had a Parrot Village. Nearly 62% of the park's total area of about 530,000 m2 (5,700,000 sq ft) consists of trees and grass and various facilities. History Seoul Children's Grand Park is an eco-friendly park, because it obtained ISO 14001 certification and was designated as an educational experiencing place by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education for operating various educational programs for children. Seoul Children's Grand Park was originally the royal tomb for Empress Sunmyeonghyo, who was the Queen of the last King, Sunjong, of the Greater Korean Empire. In 1926, the tomb was moved to Yangju-gun (currently the city Namyangju) in Gyeonggi Province when King Sunjong died. In 1970, by order of President Park Chung Hee, construction of the park started and opened the following year. On April 20, 2005, six elephants escaped from the Children's Grand Park, causing chaos in the parking lot, shops, and houses, and injuring a 52 years old woman. On March 16, 2009, that incident was also featured on the Discovery Channel's Destroyed in Seconds season 1 episode 31 at the time. Among the South Korean celebrities, Lee Sang-woo and Kwak Do-won, who were late because of this incident, mentioned this story on the air. Inspired by this incident, Kim Tae-won who's the lead guitarist/songwriter of Boohwal, rearranged a part of Ennio Morricone's work, Gabriel's Oboe, and created the second half and releasing the song 4.1.9 The Elephant Escapes (4.1.9 코끼리 탈출하다) on July 5, 2005. On February 12, 2015, an accident occurred in which a zookeeper was bitten and killed by two lions at the zoo's Ferocious-Animal Village during the day. In April 2021, the park reopened to the public following eight months of renovation. The park now features 14 rides including a roller coaster, a Viking ship ride, a merry-go-round and bumper cars. The zoo is inhabited by 90 animal species and provides several educational programs that promote the importance of nature and wildlife conservation. At 2:50 March 23, 2023, a Plains zebra named Sero (세로; lit. 'Vertical') escaped from the Children's Grand Park and he roamed through residential areas and city streets. Service hours Between 5 a.m. – 10 p.m. (05:00 – 22:00) Opening time of the main entrance, rear gate, Guuimun, and Neungdongmun (05:00 – 22:00) The zoo is open from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (It is subject to change depending on season and weather.) Fees Entrance is free, but fees for facilities such as the zoo and amusement park vary according to facility. Free admission of park entrance Fee charged or the use of Park Facilities Animal show Operation Year-round Time April ~ October → 11:30 – 17:00 on weekdays (every hour) / 11:30 – 18:00 on weekends (every hour) November ~ March → 11:30 – 16:00 on weekdays (every hour) / 11:30 – 17:00 on weekends (every hour) Note (contact info.) For senior citizen and patriot/veteran: Fee for child. The handicapped (including group) 5,000 won for adult / 4,000 won for teenager and child. Event time is subject to change. Admission fee for adults older than 19 year-old Fee for the use of park facilities Facilities Parking facilities Main entrance parking lot: 153 parking spaces Rear entrance parking lot: 252 parking spaces Guuimun entrance parking lot: 315 parking spaces Location Address: 216, Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Neung-dong) Public transportation Achasan station Children's Grand Park station Bus: 130, 302, 303, 320, 370, 721, 2221, 2311, 3216, 4212, 9403, 3500, 9301, 119 Cultural references Two Mules (1975) Destroyed in Seconds - Elephants Go Berserk (2009) Gallery See also Everland Seoul Land Lotte World References Kidsfuninseoul. (n.d.). "Children's Grand Park Seoul." Retrieved from https://kidsfuninseoul.wordpress.com/playing/amusement-parks/childrens-grand-park/ Lee, H. S. (2015). Measurement of visitors' satisfaction with public zoos in Korea using importance-performance analysis.Tourism Management, 47- 251–260. doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.10.006 LifeinKorea. (2015). "Seoul Children's Grand Park." Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20150506012905/http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/454 Nam, J.; Kim, H. (2014). "The Correlation Between Spatial Characteristics and Utilization of City Parks: A Focus on Neighborhood Parks in Seoul, Korea". Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering. 13 (2): 515–522. doi:10.3130/jaabe.13.515. Seoul Metropolitan Facilities Management. (2015). "Children's Grand Park." Retrieved from http://new.sisul.or.kr/global/main/en/sub/park.jsp Korea Tourism Organization. (n.d.). "Children's Grand Park." Retrieved from http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1051832 External links Official website 37.546°N 127.08°E﻿ / 37.546; 127.08