[WEEKEND GETAWAY] Make most of your Chuseok holidays at these metropolitan parks in Seoul

K-campus

Published: 23 Sep. 2023, 09:00 Updated: 23 Sep. 2023, 15:39

[WEEKEND GETAWAY] Make most of your Chuseok holidays at these metropolitan parks in Seoul

Yongsan Park in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

This year's Chuseok harvest holidays are much anticipated, as Koreans will have a six-day holiday from Sept. 28 to Oct.3.

Lounging indoors and binge-watching Netflix shows can be a fun part of the holiday season, but eating traditional Chuseok holiday foods and delicacies, going to family gatherings and playing Korean folk games are also the quintessential part of the wholesome holiday season.

However, some look for fun outdoors and explore new places during the holiday. There's some good news for those curious minds who live in or near Seoul. The city runs special holiday programs at some of its best parks.

Among the many parks and programs the city offers this holiday season, the Korea JoongAng Daily selected these four parks for you to visit with your loved ones or even by yourself.

Seoul Children's Grand Park
어린이대공원

Visitors enjoy their day out at Seoul Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul. [JOONGANG PHOTO]

Head outdoors and visit Seoul Children's Grand Park in Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul, to take advantage of Korea's most pleasant season of the year. The park hosts a monthly cultural event every third Saturday of the month at the outdoor yard of the park's Four Season Garden. The program, dubbed "Wolgan Grand Park," with wolgan meaning monthly in Korean, runs until November.

Seoul Pops Orchestra, magician Moon Si-ho and Eins Baum Wind Chamber, an orchestra of musicians with and without disabilities playing side-by-side, are scheduled to perform for this month's installation of the program on Saturday. There are bean bags and picnic mats for the visitors to sit on while they watch the performances.

If you haven't been to the park, think again before judging the entire space by its name. Seoul Children's Grand Park is full of attractions not only for children but also for grown-ups. It also operates a large zoo and a botanical garden, and thanks to its grandness, it's less crowded than other popular theme parks. If you prefer a reserved atmosphere over the bewilderment of being in a crowded space, Seoul Children's Park is the place for you.

Neither the park nor the performances require an entrance fee. While some facilities within the park have admission fees, they are reasonably priced thanks to the park being operated by the city.

If you are going to the park by public transit, you may either walk to the park's front gate from Children's Grand Park Station on Seoul subway line No. 7 or to the back gate from Achasan Station on line No. 5.

216 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin District, eastern Seoul
(서울시 광진구 능동로 216)
Opening hours: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., (The zoo operates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
Phone number: 02-450-9311, 02-450-9314
Website: https://www.sisul.or.kr/open_content/childrenpark/

Seoul World Cup Stadium Park
월드컵공원

Peace Park is one of the five parks comprising World Cup Park in Mapo District, western Seoul. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

World Cup Park in Mapo District, western Seoul, was once a massive landfill that is now the largest park in the city. Offering five parks — Haneul Park, Noeul Park, Peace Park, Nanjicheon Park and Nanji Hangang Park — World Cup Park is the place to go if you are looking to have a nice day outside.

During the Chuseok harvest holidays, Jangseung Plaza near Nanji Pond hosts cultural events, including traditional folk games and Chuseok-related programs. The "Hangawi Hanmadang" on Friday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. will feature a traditional Korean folk game expert showing visitors how to play games such as jegichagi, Korean hacky sack, tuho, or arrow toss, and more. No registration is needed to participate in the program.

There are also traditional craft programs at the venue. One of the most popular programs is the wishing lantern-making workshop using hanji, traditional Korean paper. The participants can end the night by making a wish under the moonlight with the lanterns they made.

84, Haneulgongwon-ro, Mapo District, western Seoul
(서울시 마포구 하늘공원로 84)
Opening hours: 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in September, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in October
Hangawi Hanmadang Program: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 29
Phone number: 02-300-5500, 02-300-5574
Website: https://parks.seoul.go.kr/template/sub/worldcuppark.do..

Seoul Botanic Park
서울식물원

Seoul Botanical Park's special exhibition ″Light Awakening″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]

For those eager to use this long holiday season to go outside and explore new places, Seoul Botanic Park in Gangseo District, western Seoul, is somewhere you need to check out. What's more, the park is open during this holiday season except for Oct. 4.

Seoul Botanical Park's special exhibition ″Light Awakening″ [SCREEN CAPTURE]

It currently runs an art exhibition at Project Hall 2 on the second floor of the Botanic Center and Magok Cultural Hall. "Light Awakening," the park's special exhibition, features installations that center around the theme of natural light. The works are by artist Chen Dai-goang and studio SILO Lab.

The park has an entrance fee, but the exhibition is open free of charge. The exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The last admission is at 5:30 p.m.

@seoulbotanicpark_official
161, Magokdong-ro, Gangseo District, western Seoul
Opening hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. from March to October, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from November to February. Closed on Mondays. Tickets are sold until one hour before closing.
Admission fee: 5,000 won ($3.73) for adults aged 19 to 64, 3,000 won for teenagers and 2,000 won for children aged 6 to 12. Those under 6 and above 64 can enter for free. Groups of 30 or more get a 30 percent discount per ticket.
Phone number: 02-2104-9716, 02-2104-9775
Website: https://botanicpark.seoul.go.kr/eng/main.do#

Yongsan Family Park
용산가족공원

This archival photo shows Yongsan Family Park in 1995. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN ARCHIVE]

Yongsan Family Park takes up some 75,900 square meters (18.75 acres) of land in Yongsan District, central Seoul. The park is now open to the public all year, but civilians could not enter the premises for decades during the 20th century since it was part of a U.S. military base.

The park used to be a golf course for U.S. service members stationed in Korea, but it opened to the public in 1992. Renovation projects for the park added many natural and citizen-friendly features, such as jogging courses and art installations, while maintaining its spacious grass area, forest and pond.

The National Museum of Korea also sits right next to the park. The museum will stay open during this holiday season except for Sept. 29.

On Sept. 30, Yongsan Family Park will run a special holiday program from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. featuring traditional folk games at the park's garden area. The games include yutori, or tradition Korean boardgame, tuho and jegichagi. Anyone can participate in the program and use the provided tools to play the games for free. No registration is needed.

@yongsanparkstory
137 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan District, central Seoul
(서울특별시 용산구 서빙고로 137)
Opening hours: Open all year round
Phone number: 02-792-7520, 070-4224-1708
Website: http://www.park.go.kr/front/index.do

BY KIM DONG-EUN [kim.dongeun@joongang.co.kr]