[Sponsored Report] Gallop to Seoul Race Park’s summer fest

A race at the Hot Summer Dream Festival. Provided by the KRA

It is summer and festivals are attracting people. This year, there are even more festivals than ever and people who enjoy them are deeply worried. Which one should they go to? To visit all the festivals they want, they usually don’t have enough money or time. However, there is one special festival with low fare, accessibility and excitement: in short, all that is needed for a good time. It’s the Hot Summer Dream Festival at Seoul Race Park.

The Korea Racing Authority hosts the Hot Summer Dream Festival, a night horse racing festival, from July 20 to August 19 every Friday, Saturday and Sunday for 14 days. During this period the first race will take place at 2:30 p.m. and the last race of the day is at 9 p.m. Transportation concerns are easily resolved by subway and there are other various performances and events prepared during the festival to blast away the heat and stress of the visitors.

This year at the Hot Summer Dream Festival, a festival of light will take place, which will be hard to take one’s eyes away from. One of the most interesting events is the 3-D PIGI image show, using the Seoul Race Park audience building as the screen. Nine programmed films bring up large images through the projectors at different scheduled times, presenting a fancy light festival. In addition, the underground tunnel heading to the family park is decorated as an aquarium with LED lights and sounds, making you feel like you are walking under the sea.

During the Hot Summer Dream Festival you can enjoy free beer at the Seoul Race Park. It is just like heaven, drinking beer on the grass on a summer night. You can enjoy a thrilling horse race under a European parasol drinking beer. This Summer Night Pub Festival is scheduled five times on Saturdays.

On August 4, a marathon that you can enjoy only at the race park is scheduled. The “Race Track Marathon” with KRA is a marathon at the horse race track. Men will race 3.3 kilometers (2 miles) and women will run 1.7 kilometers. Anyone over age 18 can register through the Internet or on location. The first three finishers in either category will receive a large prize.

Other events include guessing the last horse for the third, sixth and ninth races and something called “Challenge! Turn Around Ball,” which involves wishing for a prize and purchasing a 10,000 won ($8.73) ticket with your losing horse-race tickets.

Of course there are also fun stage performances that should not be missed. 9Muses, Rainbow Pixie and other idol singer performances and band concerts are lined up, expected to be as wild as a rock festival. An acoustic performance will take place at the pine tree park next to the audience building, calming down the visitors exhausted from the heat and excitement.

Playing in the water is essential at summer festivals. A “Cool Zone” is set up at the entrance of the park during the festival, sprinkling water and cooling off the visitors. There is also an air bounce swimming pool with slides and air ball so the families can enjoy water play at the Seoul Race Park.

Children can ride horses and rent inline skates and bicycles for free. The Hot Summer Dream Festival takes place at the park square, family park and all throughout the Seoul Race Park.

An official of Seoul Race Park said, “The Hot Summer Dream Festival is a representative summer festival of Seoul Race Park and there are programs that all people can enjoy, making it a good recommendation for vacations for citizens exhausted by the heat and daily grind.”

By Lee Ji-hyun [concordia@joongang.co.kr]