Seoul Zoo at Seoul Grand Park was one of our favorite things we did in Seoul, South Korea. The grounds were beautiful and clean, there was a large variety of animals, and plenty of play areas to keep the kids busy.
Seoul Grand Park is located on the southeast edge of Seoul and has its own subway stop. We were excited to finally see some of the beautiful Korean mountainsides.
We were shocked by how empty the park was! We walked all over the place with ease, never waited in line for anything, and had unobstructed views of all the animals. We rented a stroller for Ian (for less than $5 USD) and that was f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c. 10/10 would recommend as the park is VERY hilly. (Like… there is a ski-lift that will take you to the back of the park, hilly.) Emily says she will forever be jealous of the bathrooms in Korea – they had the mom/kid toilets in the same stall here as well. (Seriously so helpful as Ian decided to potty train on this trip.)
Speaking of bathroom situations… there were a few times when English translation would have come in handy, but luckily we got the gist of this situation from the drawing- haha! Don’t get too close to the tapirs.
The best part about the Seoul Zoo was definitely the playground areas for the kids. Slides, climbing walls, jungle gyms for all ages.
There was this INSANE slide that was probably 50-60ft long. After sending Ian, our three-year-old, down we noticed a sign that it was meant for 10-13yos. Oops. I went down it also and think I almost broke my hip- HA. It was seriously intense and I don’t think there’s any way it would have been legal in the US. For real, Emily could barely get the whole thing in one picture.
My only complaint about the zoo was the lack of food options. There were a few vending machines, one or two snack stalls, and a cafeteria with only Korean food. If we had known that was the case we definitely would have packed our own meals. That said, Emily did finally get her “Potato Tornado!” (The vendor asked if she wanted cheese, she was expecting like nacho cheese but it was cheese powder. She said the end result was slightly sweet but yummy.)
There is also a Dunkin’ Donuts at the entrance to the park, so we stopped on our way out and enjoyed an American donut and cup of coffee as we walked back to the subway. We never eat Dunkin Donuts at home (Team Krispy Kreme all the way) but after almost two full months in Korea we were getting pretty homesick.
I would definitely plan to spend all day here and make time to visit Seoul Land as well!
