Children's Grand Park, Seoul

Children's Grand Park or Seoul Children's Grand Park is a park complex in Gwangjin-gu, 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 polar bears, a Small Animal Village, and a Parrot Village. Nearly 62% of the park's total area of about 530,000 sqm 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 Namyangju City) 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 on March 23, 2023, a Grant's 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

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

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)