Children's Grand Park () 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 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 () 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 () 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 DivisionAdultTeenagerChildIndividual6,500 won5,000 won5,000 wonGroup 5,800 won4,500 won4,500 won

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 DivisionBasisFeeGrass fieldOnce for 2 hoursSoccer Event - 156,000 won Weekdays - 25,000 wonFutsal StadiumOnce for 2 hours 5:05- Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays : 32,500 won 3:03 - Weekdays 15,000 won: Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays -19,500 wonTennis courtOnce and one side for 2 hoursIndoor - 25,000 won Outdoor - 8,000 wonOutdoor stage (Stage of Neugdong Forest/ Open stage)Once for 2 hours Separate charge for electricityDay Time- 100,000 won (25,000 won for every extra hour) Night Time - 200,000 won (50,000 won for every extra hour)Filming and ShootingOnce for hour13,000 won (6,500 won for every extra 1 hour) Fee is charged for filming and shooting with profit making purpose (movie, TV drama, commercial advertisement, etc.).Parking LotOnce for every 5 minutesCompact Car - 150 won Mid-size Car - 200 won

Full-sized Car- 450 wonStroller RentalOnce3,000 won

Facilities DivisionNo.AreaNoteInfrastructure - Road-51, 260.24m2Road (22 routes for ), hiking trail (26 routes for )Infrastructure - Square512,670.36m2Square (5)Landscape facility1117,445.39 m2Pond and ecology facility (3), fountain (2), themed garden (4), streamlet (1), flowerbedRecreation facility3619.84m2Pavilion (3) long benches (455 benches)Entertainment facility329,912.66m2Amusement park (1), children's playground (2)Sports Facility816,657.00m2Soccer field (1), health square (4), tennis court (1 (3-sided)), futsal field (1 (2-sided)), gate ball field (1)Cultural facility4959,777.43m2Restaurant and convenience store (3), restroom (13), information center (1), octagonal hall (1), parking lot (3), kiosk (2), other convenient facility (drinking fountain, public phone, chair)Convenience facility242,029.20 m2 Restaurant and convenience store (3), restroom (13), information center (1), octagonal hall (1), parking lot (3), kiosk (2), other convenient facility (drinking fountain, public phone, chair)Management facility242,029.20 m2Main entrance (1), rear gate (1), Guuimun (1), Neungdongmun (1), substation (1), storage for facility maintenance (1), Office of Tree Management (1), water treatment facility (1), Music Fountain Control Center (1), Train Hill (1), other convenient facility (fence, information sign, street light, high voltage transformer room)Greenbelt-323,259.17m2Greenbelt, forest belt, grassTotal-536,088.50m2

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

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