Pandas, Cafés, and a Holiday Just For Kids?

안녕하세요 여러분 (Annyeonghaseyo Yeorobun)
Hello Everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed last week's post on K-pop and Korean entertainment! In relation, I was actually really lucky this week and stumbled across a free performance by some of my favorite Korean artists while in Seoul this past weekend. 

Video I took of brother-sister duo Akdong Musician (AKMU) performing

their newest song "How Can I Love The Heartbreak, You're The One I Love".

This week however, I wanted to talk about a topic I think you will all enjoy: Being a Kid in South Korea! Specifically, I want to talk about the different activities that kids can enjoy and a bit about what being a kid in South Korea is like. I will be interviewing a kid here either next week or the week after so definitely be on the lookout for that!

The first thing I wanted to talk about is a special holiday in Korea called "Children's Day! (어린이날-eo-reen-ee-nal). Whereas in America we have Mother's and Father's Day, Korea has a Children's Day and a Parent's Day(May 8th). I asked my roommate Jiwon about Children's day and how you celebrate it. She told me that Chilldren's Day is on May 5th, and is a day for parents to give presents to their kids and to spend time together. Jiwon also said that typically parents will stop giving gifts when the kids go to middle school but that she asked her parents to keep giving her gifts so she still got them for a few more years.

What do you think about Children's Day? Do you wish America had a Children's Day? Are there any holidays in America that you think are similar? 

The next thing I will talk about are children cafes, museums, and parks! South Korea has  hundreds and hundreds of cafes, so it is no suprise that their are kids cafes too! Although often for a bit younger kids, the few that I've passed by look like they would be really fun. While parents can drink some coffee, kids can go play on big play-structures, meet new friends, and eat fun kid themed food!

The Little Prince kid cafe!

Korea also has quite a few kid museums such as the Seoul Children's Museum where you can go learn about Korean history and science with fun and interactive exhibits! There are also special parks like the Children's Grand Park or Pororo Park which even have little rides you can go on. Pororo is by far the most famous kids character in South Korea. He is a little penguin who along with his own TV show, has lots and lots of cute and fun activities associated  with him. 

Picture of Pororo and Pororo's friends at Pororo Park!

The last and I think most fun activity kids can do are amusement parks! Korea has lots of small amusement parks but the biggest and most famous are Lotte World and Everland! I have not had the chance to go to Lotte World but it is the perfect place to go all year round because it has an inside and outside park! Since it is getting colder and colder here these days, if I decide to go to an amusement park again it will definitely be Lotte World. However, this past weekend I had the chance to go to Everland for the first time and had such a blast! 

Statues of some of the Everland characters. From left to right-
Lenny, Bagel, and Lara.

If you have ever been to Disneyland, Everland is a pretty similar experience. You can go on lots of fun themed roller coasters, rides, and meet the cute Everland characters like Lenny the Lion! I think my favorite part was riding the T-Express (which is apparently the largest wooden roller coaster in all of Asia!). It was really fast but a bit scary. 

T-Express!

Everland has a lot of different themed areas such as Aesops Fabels, Jungle, and even a section themed like the 50s and 60s of the United States. It was kind of funny in that area since they kept playing famous American songs from people like Elvis! Everything was in English in that area too which was pretty helpful. 

Picture I took of the American themed Diner. The houses are
also supposed to represent homes like in America from the 50s and 60s
and have little American memorabilia inside (such as old TV's, footballs, etc.).

By far though, the highlight of Everland was the zoo in the Jungle themed area! There were lots of cute animals such as monkeys, bats, and even a tiger! However, the coolest animal was most definitely the panda!  I have never seen a panda in real life, so I was so excited to finally see one for the first time. He looked so fluffy and cute. Have any of you seen a panda before? What is your favorite animal you have seen at a zoo? Mine are definitely monkeys (especially Gibbons)!

Panda! He was sleeping so cutely. His name is Le Bao! Did you know Panda's can eat up to 33 pounds of bamboo everyday?

Everland was so much fun and one of the most popular places in Korea for kids (and adults too!). If you ever have a chance to go to Korea, definitely check out Everland!

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this post! Have you ever been to an amusement park or maybe the state fair/ Rose Festival? Do you like roller coasters? 

                  My friends and I at Everland!

안녕! (annyeong)

Bye!!