Many subway stations in Seoul are named after nearby attractions. Seoul Grand Park Station of subway line number four is one such station. Just a five-minute walk from exit number two takes you to a theme park surrounded by green grass. This is today’s destination, Seoul Land, the ultimate playground for both children and adults.

Seoul Land was opened as an urban theme park ahead of the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. More than 30% of the 300 thousand square meter ground is green space with plenty of grass and trees, and 200 thousand square meters house a total of 45 rides, the most number of rides in Korea. Here’s Mr. Park Jong-wook of Seoul Land’s International Cooperation Team.

Recognizing the need for a world-class theme park in Seoul ahead of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games, the municipal government built Seoul Land as a city-sponsored project. The park is now 24 years old. Two years ago Seoul Land hosted a meeting of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, and all the participants marveled at how beautiful Seoul Land was. The location of the park is amazing with Mr. Cheonggye in the back and Mt. Gwanak and a lake in the front. By location alone, Seoul Land rivals the reputation of Disney Land.

It only takes an hour to reach Seoul Land from downtown Seoul. Its proximity to the capital city has drawn roughly 3.5 million visitors every year, giving it the moniker of Korea’s greatest amusement park. Living up to this reputation, there are numerous attractions and rides inside the park. The first thing visitors must do is to purchase tickets for the park’s elephant train, which waits near the main information center to take people inside. Adult admission is only 800 won, not even 80 cents.

The train takes riders past the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea, the Seoul Grand Park, the arboretum, and the rose garden to Seoul Land. It’s a five-minute ride.

Visitors enter Seoul Land after purchasing admission tickets at the ticket booth.

The water fountain spews a water-generated rainbow over the intense summer sunshine, and well-tended trees welcome the visitors. A small bridge takes them over the lake to the world plaza where famous architecture from all over the world line up both sides of the avenue. After taking a photo at the replica of The Leaning Tower of Pisa at the end of the plaza, visitors turn their eyes toward a gigantic silver ball. What could this be? Here’s Ms. Kim Ji-hyun of Seoul Land to explain.

That silver ball is not a sculpture, but a building. It may not look like it, but it houses the World Civic Education Center. There are exhibits inside, and a laser show takes place here every evening and two or three performances during the day. There are always spectacular things to see here.

This is the green energy toy parade, which features dancers in colorful and eye-popping costumes and energetic drum players. Visitors can’t help but move to the rhythm of the beat.

The parade was for their viewing pleasure. Now it’s time to really get down and have fun! Seoul Land is composed of five theme zones. Here’s Mr. Park Jong-wook of Seoul Land’s International Cooperation Team to explain more.

There are five theme zones in Seoul Land – the World Plaza, Adventure Land, Fantasy Land, Tomorrow Land, and Samchulli Land. These places each hold a story and families can come here and make memories and stories of their own. Each course here has a name like a family course, friendship course, children’s course, and an umbrella course. The family course was created so that families can make memories that transcend generations. Since the park has been around for a long time, oftentimes a boy grows up to be a father and brings his own children to the park just like his father did before him. This is way to share family memory. The family course also features classic rides and attractions for people of all ages. The Lunar Express and Time Machine rides are fun for everyone. The friendship course has Seoul Land’s signature rides – Sky X, Shot Drop, Thrill Ride and such. The children’s course is for children under school age, and the lover’s course is an adventurous and romantic space perfect for people in love. The umbrella course is an indoor venue where you can enjoy all kinds of facilities even in rainy weather.

The first stop is the Adventure Land. The entrance is fashioned in the style of western frontier. Then the visitors suddenly hear piercing screams.

The screams are from the riders of King Viking, a stomach-churning thrill ride. There are other rides and attractions just like this in the Adventure Land. The Pirate’s Cove, the shooting range, the flume ride, and Sky Adventure are all fun features ticking your adventurous spirit. While those opting for real electrifying experience ride King Viking, those who want to enjoy an online shooting game in real life head to the virtual world of Sudden Attack.

If you wish to walk on air or fly through the sky, how about Sky Adventure? It’s an opportunity to have a blast in the sky, so says Ms. Kim Ji-hyun of Seoul Land.

This is like a military training exercise. The first course is this wooden bridge. They look like a cinch, but it can get pretty scary because there’s water underneath and the bridge extends between the trees. There is also the zip line among our 16 different courses. The zip line is a thrilling ride, which takes you zipping across the line spanning between the two trees.

For safety precautions visitors are required to wear a helmet and gloves when taking part in Sky Adventure. It becomes obvious real quick how dangerous yet invigorating it is to stand in the air with only a rope to keep you from falling several meters down.

The Sky Adventure experience is divided into beginners and advanced courses, depending on the age and expertise of participants. There is no other feature that can give you the same level of anxiety and exhilaration as Sky Adventure. Recently the park added the dragon tank course, which features a slightly smaller version of a real tank. This has become the new hot spot in the park, for visitors are given a chance to drive this mini tank.

Next up is the Fantasy Land, a fairy tale-based theme park. Some of its features include a big carousel, the rainbow Bicycle from which visitors can have an overview of the park from above, Peter Pan where visitors ride in a pirate ship, and roller coasters for children. The Fantasy Land sets itself apart from other venues as truly an amusement park for children in that it has more open space for young children to run around than rides and facilities. Here’s Mr. Kim Ji-hyun again.

The Action Zone is for little children. It has a ball pool, slides, rope jungle gym, air bounce house, and other child-friendly facilities so young visitors can play without getting hurt. The second and third floors can be reached through the net ladders and children can get down through the slide.

The four-story tall Action Zone building invites children with various playthings and facilities. No one will chastise children for running around or shouting at this place. As a matter of fact, the park encourages children to expend as much energy as they can here.

Past the Fantasy Land is the Future Land, where cutting-edge science and mysterious future are presented. This is also where the most exciting rides in Seoul Land can be found. First of all, there’s Shot Drop, which takes riders up 52 meters in the air like a rocket and suddenly drops them down to earth.

There there’s Black Hole 2000, which is a roller coaster with seven heart-stopping vertical drops and two mind-bending twists. Riders feel like they’re being sucked into a black hole, just like the name suggests.

- It was so fun and exciting. It was really thrilling and scary, but fun at the same time.
- My body turned not once, but twice. It had a couple of awesome twists which I loved.

For those thrill-seekers who wish to test their courage, there is Sky X for future sky divers. Then there are 3D, 4D, and even 5D movie theaters.

The UFO Theater you see in front of you features a time machine, where you can have a 5D movie-watching experience. You can have a vivid, reality-like experience of seeing the stones rushing at you and passing through you.

- I was in a round room with a 360-degree dome. With the glasses on I felt like I was right in the middle of it. It was so fun. It felt like I was really in the future. It was more exciting because the screen was turning all around us.
- I thought I would really get hit by the flying arrows.

The last course is the Samchulli Land replete with a uniquely Korean ambience. This site features a ghost house with Korean ogres called doggaebi and traditional ghouls. Then there is a Hwarang archery range where Koreans can relive the spirit of the master archer Jumong.

A day flies by as you play your way through the World Plaza, Adventure Land, Fantasy Land, Future Land, and the Samchulli Land. You had so much fun and used up so much energy that the way back home seems miles away. If so, just relax and watch the sun set on a bench near the Seoul Land Lake. The cool evening breeze would refresh you enough for a trip home.