Release your inner kid with these Children's Day activities

Music & Performance

Published: 30 Apr. 2024, 21:06 Updated: 13 May. 2024, 14:08

Release your inner kid with these Children's Day activities

Everland's new children's musical ″Lenny's Colorful Dream″ kicks off on May 3 at the theme park's Grand Stage in Yongin, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

Looking for things to do with the kids on Children's Day?

The Korea JoongAng Daily compiled a list of events taking place in and around Seoul for you and the kids this Children's Day. Since the national holiday falls on Sunday this year, the following Monday was made a public day off in lieu of the holiday, resulting in a long weekend for many.

Lego Pop-up Store

Lego Korea will run a “I Won’t Grow Up Lego Pop-Up Store” during this year’s Children’s Day in nine locations across Seoul, including in Seongsu-dong in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, and other major shopping malls. This event was planned to show kids and so-called kidults the joy of playing with Lego.

The nine locations are: Lotte Premium Outlet Uiwang in Gyeonggi (April 27 - May 12), Paradise City Incheon (April 26 – May 19), Starfield Ansung in Gyeonggi (April 25 – May 6), Emart Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi (April 25 – May 6), Hyundai Department Store Cheonho in Gangdong District, eastern Seoul (April 22 – May 12), and Hyundai Premium Outlet Daejeon (April 18 – May 6) and Songdo in Incheon (April 12 – May 6) will all host the pop-up stores. The pop-up will be held outdoors for Seongsu (April 27 – May 12) and Shinsaegae Simon Yeoju Premium Outlet (April 26 – May 19).

The Seongsu pop-up store, which is the largest, includes “Brick Cafes” with brick-themed desserts, animal-shaped toys, showrooms, galleries and photo zones. Anyone who spends more than 100,000 won ($73) will be given a Lego brick pouch and a keyring set. All gifts will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis, until supplies last.

2024 Nation of Happy Children

To celebrate the 102nd anniversary of Children’s Day, some 200 organizations got together to organize a “2024 Nation of Happy Children” festival, to be held on May 1. The event aims to revitalize Children’s Day, which was first declared on May 1, 1922.

The event will focus on recreating the street march that commemorated the first Children’s Day back in 1922. The event will start with a public reading of the Children’s Liberation Manifesto and then the march will begin at 11 a.m. heading toward the Seoul Museum of Craft Art (SeMoCa) in central Seoul, where they will be met with a children’s choir. Anyone can participate in the march, and no sign up is required.

The ″Dear My Forest″ exhibition is ongoing at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art's Gwacheon branch in Gyeonggi. [MMCA]

KIDS Day

The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) will be hosting “KIDS Day” from May 4 to May 5. The event will be held at the MMCA Children's Museum of Art, at its Gwacheon and Seoul branches.

At the museum’s Gwacheon branch, a special workshop for kids will take place on both days. On May 4, together with artist Park Hyung-jin, who participated as one of the artists in the current “Dear My Forest” exhibit, kids will get to walk around in and outside the museum grounds to explore different colors and then try to express what they saw using their body. On May 5, choreographer Lee So-young and artist Shin Seung-yeon will help kids express ripples of sunlight reflected on water. Fourteen additional programs that have been organized for the holiday. More information on the programs can be found on the museum’s website.

AT MMCA Seoul, several educational programs have been organized. Titled “Connecting” (translated), this program is for both abled and disabled children. They’ll have an opportunity to explore what connects them to each other as well as nature.

We Like Nature

Children play tug-of-war at the National Folk Museum of Korea. [NATIONAL FOLK MUSEUM OF KOREA]

The National Folk Museum of Korea in central Seoul has organized the "We Like Nature" event for Children's Day. Nine programs including live performances, hands-on programs, and games will take place outdoors for children to play.

The musical “Save Dong-Dong Village!” is a gugak (traditional Korean music) musical and will be staged twice on May 5, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The protagonist, Triangle, is a kid who does not sort the trash for recycling. With the help of a dokkaebi (goblin) and a dragon, they learn how recycling is important for the environment.

The museum said all programs were organized to keep smartphones out of the kids' hands and make them get some fresh air outside. The hands-on experience programs include traditional games, which their parents or grandparents may have enjoyed before gadgets like smartphones or video games came out. Other traditional Korean games like tug-of-war, jegichagi (a game using a shuttlecock and your feet), tuho (throwing arrows in a basket), and top-spinning will also be held.

For more information, visit the website.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG, YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]