Once in Seoul, I imagine that the time will come that, over
the weekend or over the holidays, you’ll want to do something special and have
some fun. Or, if you happen to be one of those who have managed to find a
significant other during your study, you’ll likely want to plan something
special and show them a good time. Sure, you can go to places like Hongdae,
Itaewon, or Gangnam but these places, while you should definitely visit them,
are locales that you can visit at any time during your stay. They are also
mostly party areas and more suitable for a fun night on the town.
As such, if you’re looking for some special, and wholesome, entertainment
to do over an entire day or take your partner to on a date, there are two services/products
that I would definitely recommend any student in Seoul should experience before
they leave. That would be to spend an entire day at either of the two main amusement
parks near Seoul, Lotte World and Everland. I’ll now go over a quick review of
each park one at a time and why I recommend them.
There are several reasons why I would recommend a visit to
Lotte World as a must. The first is that it is incredibly easy to reach. All one
has to do is get on Line 2 of the metro and get off at Jamsil station and follow
the signs. The second reason is the price of attending Lotte World. Normally,
adult admittance for a full day with rides included runs you around 46,000 won
but the park has plenty of promotions that drastically lower the price. I found
that if you happen to have a Shinhan Bank debit card and you use it to pay, the
cost comes to around 13,000 won. At least that is what I paid both times I went
there. If you’re a student with a limited budget this can be an incredible
boon.
The main thing that makes me recommend Lotte World was the
overall atmosphere of wonder that the park provides. The way the indoor dome is
laid out, the decorations, and the contrast between the rides and the dome
makes for a truly astonishing sight. Lotte World further builds upon this sense
of wonder with the themed parades that it runs at certain times throughout the
day. These are full on performances with mascots, music, and dancing. To top it
all off the park provides concerts at the end of the day. These make for a
wonderful time to sit down after a day of running around and just enjoy the
music. What I also found neat is that admission to the park also gets you
admission to an area of the park where you can go and eat truly authentic
traditional Korean cuisine.
Now, I’ll move on to the other major amusement park near Seoul, and
Lotte World’s main rival, Everland. Everland is a truly massive theme park
operated by the Samsung Group. In contrast to Lotte World, Everland is an outdoor
theme park that has, on average, larger rides and more attractions. Within the
park itself are also located a zoo and a water park. Everland consists of
several themed areas based on such things as European villages and 60’s American
rock among others. It also has some very attractive rides such as the T Express
which is a wooden roller coaster that currently holds the world record for being
the steepest. However, if you do go there be prepared to prioritize what it is
that you plan to see because it is nearly impossible to cover the entire park
in a single day. It’s just that big.
What I found really attractive about Everland is that they
really go all out into creating a magical experience. For events such as
Halloween or the Christmas season they decorate the entire park and create experiences
specifically tailored for them. For example, the first time I went there was
around Halloween and I found that they had transformed their Safari experience into
a Zombie Safari. The ride involved getting on a safari bus and having a whole
bunch of “zombies” come rushing out to the bus. Like Lotte World, Everland also
holds themed parades though on bit larger scale. To top off the entire
experience, every night Everland holds a fireworks display accompanied by music
and themed light show. I found this to be a perfect finisher to calm you down
after all the adrenaline from the rides.
For all its good sides, there are some things I did not like
about Everland. The first is that it is about an hour and a half outside of
Seoul in Yongin. Granted it’s not that far, but as a student your main option for
getting to Everland is to take the metro which can impose some time constraints
on how long you can be at the park. The first time I went there, I found that I
had to leave Everland early enough that I missed the fireworks show in order to
be able to reach my university in Seoul before the metro shut down. So do take
that into consideration.
The second aspect that I did not like about Everland is that
they do very little in order to reduce the waiting times for rides. They do
have a system that allows you to take a ticket with a set time frame that would
shortcut you to get on a ride, but every time I went there it was not working
and it seemed to have been like that for some time. If you do go to Everland,
be prepared for long wait times to get
on rides.
Finally, Everland is a bit more expensive to attend than
Lotte World. Regular admission full day admission costs the same as Lotte World
but there is a discount for foreigners that brings the price down to 37,000
won. It’s better than the regular price but still more expensive than Lotte
World promotion prices.
Overall, however, I would recommend that if you’re a student
you definitely take the time to visit Lotte World and Everland at least once
before you leave. They’re both near enough to be accessible without too much hassle.
They provide a very fun experience for prices that are not exorbitantly
expensive and their fun atmospheres make them special places for a date or
hanging out with friends. So if you’re studying in Seoul, do experience them or
you’ll regret it.
If you wish to learn more visit the Everland and Lotte World websites.
If you wish to learn more visit the Everland and Lotte World websites.
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