Seoul Searching | Konkuk University + Seoul Children's Grand Park.

In the days subsequent to our visit to Seoul Forest, Yue kept on asking when will he get to see 'the animals' again. It seemed that his first close encounter with deer, ducks, and birds had been quite memorable for the little man, who has an innate fondness for animals.

I finally gave in to his request on a sunny, relatively warm spring day, but instead of going back to Seoul Forest, I opted for a visit to Children's Grand Park, another popular and family-friendly recreational space in Seoul.

Pride Konkuk pennants displayed all over the campus.

Commuting to the park by subway entails a transfer at Konkuk University station. Instead of heading directly to the park from Ttukseom Station, we decided to explore Kondae first and grab some lunch while we're at it.

Konkuk University!

Konkuk U and Children's Park adventure after the jump! Picture-heavy post! :)
Adjacent to the subway station is the university's main campus in Seoul (the other campus is in Chungcheongbukdo). Known as 'the fastest growing university in Korea', Konkuk University is composed of 16 undergraduate colleges and 13 graduate schools.

Konkuk University Medical Center.

Konkuk also has its own Medical Center, duly-accredited by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. This state-of-the art hospital has its own facility dedicated to the study and research of various types of cancer.

Art & Design Building.

Apparently, this campus is also a popular film location for Korean dramas. Twenty Again and Surgeon Bong Dal Hee are some of the Kdramas that were filmed in the KU main campus and the KU Medical Center respectively.

Someone's enjoying this trip to KU. :)

Apparently, this campus is also a popular film location for Korean dramas. 

The school also has an impressive list of notable alumni, which includes top Hallyu stars Lee Min Ho, Lee Jong Suk, Yoo Ah In, Go Kyung Pyo, and Joo Won; and Kpop idols Minho of SHINee, Hyeri of Girls Day, Dasom of Sistar, and Changmin of TVXQ.

Hello, Kondae!

Like Hongdae and Ehdae, Kondae is also lined with restaurants, shops, and a myriad of vendors that sell practically everything - flowers, trinkets, cellphone cases, socks, even tarot card readings!

The Club Clio store at Kondae.

Flowers are pretty easy to buy in Seoul.
There's bound to be a stall that sells flowers in every block. :)

Kondae also has its so-called Taste Street, an area packed with restaurants serving a variety of popular Korean food (think samgyeopsal and galbi).

Kondae Taste Street.

Yue, however, prefers to eat within his comfort zone. We ended up having burger and fries at the Lotteria branch in Star City Mall, located right across the Kondae Taste Street.

You can never go wrong with hamburger and french fries.

Lotteria also has its own version of Happy Meal, hence, the Astro Boy action figure.

After our tummy-fill, we made our way to the Seoul Children's Grand Park on foot. The weather was so nice and breezy that day and since the park is just one station away from Kondae, I told Yue, "Anak, let's walk all the way to the park! It seems pretty close from here, we'd be there right away." 

Going way, way beyond the healthy pace. Lol!

Little did I know that it would take more than ten thousand steps to get there. This route was probably the longest I have ever walked in Seoul (and perhaps in my entire life, lol) and even my S Health could attest to that. Haha!

Welcome to the Seoul Children's Grand Park!

The park's main entrance.

All smiles even after all that walking, haha!

The first thing I did as soon as we arrived at the park's main entrance was take a puff of my Ventolin inhaler, haha! My lungs were just about ready to give out from all the walking!

Beware of horns, lol!

Usherettes for the Seoul Urban Agriculture Expo greeted us at the entrance. The event, held annually at the park, highlights urban farming - the newest eco-friendly trend in Korea.

Pucca!

Tayo and friends!
Each bus has a TV screen where you can watch episodes of the animated series.

Interactive exhibits were on display at the park's Open Stage, as well as a Farmer's Market where you can buy seeds, flowers, vegetables, and some animal by-products such as milk and honey.

Pretty flowering plants for sale.

Near the Open Stage is the Music Fountain, one of the most popular attractions inside the park.

Kids love it, adults love taking photos of it.

The fountain showcases a colorful and spectacular array of water shows, which kids and adults love.

The watershow...

... in full swing!

Too bad I forgot to take a video of this water show! It would have been nice if I could let you see how these spurts of water 'dance' to the music.

Can you see the rainbow? :)

After the show, we went on to explore the other park attractions. Seoul Children's Grand Park isn't called 'grand' for nothing. The park is immensely wide, as in 130 acres wide, with a variety of facilities and attractions appealing to visitors of all ages.

Vicinity Map.

We found the zoo without much difficulty, thanks to the pamphlet we got at the park's main entrance. You can also refer to this Vicinity Map, located across the fountain. 

Feels like Middle Earth.

The zoo is subdivided into different areas: Primates, Herbivores, Deer, Wild Birds, the Small Animals Village, and the World of Ferocious Animals.

This is a leopard.

Spot the difference.

And these are jaguars.

Yue enjoyed the latter the most, as he had the chance to see all these wild animals up close and personal. Because you know, every kid's dream is to see lions, tigers, and elephants.

Happy kid!

The lioness awaits.

A hyena.

A fox being well, foxy.

A puma.

Canines and felines inside the zoo.

Too bad we didn't get to see the elephants that day. They were nowhere in sight as their 'home' inside the zoo was under renovation.

This is a llama.

And these are alpacas.

 The zoo also has a Marine Animal House, where kids can marvel at seals and penguins.

The entrance to the Marine Animal House.

Yue and I went in search of the camels, because he wanted to try riding one. Unfortunately, we couldn't find them either and we somehow ended up at Adventureland, a play area complete with all sorts of equipment.

Adventureland!

This is one of the many things that I love about Seoul, and South Korea in general. Playgrounds are not hard to come by. There's bound to be a playground in almost every neighborhood, and kids can use/play in them to their hearts' content.

Old school playground!

And they even have musical instruments!

No kids in sight since we visited on a school day.

At least he had this swing all to himself. :)

If you're up for something a little more extreme than swings and see-saws, you can go for the rides at the Fun World, the park's in-house amusement park. A one-day, ride-all-you-can ticket to Fun World costs 21000 won for kids, 23000 won for teens, and 25000 won for adults. Or you can pay per ride, with rates starting at 3500 won.

Fun World at the Children's Grand Park.

Surprisingly, Yue was a bit uninterested with the rides (perhaps they were a bit too extreme for his taste), and wanted to go to the Botanical Garden instead.

Botanical Garden.

To get there, we had to go through this lovely rose tunnel, with a plethora of roses all in full bloom.

A plethora of roses! I love!

This is one of my most favorite photos from our spring trip - sunshine and roses, literally.

Sunshine and roses.

Our trip to the Children's Grand Park would have been complete had we been able to visit the Children's Museum. We were no longer allowed to enter, as the last admission is 5 pm. We got there a little after 5, as we spent way too much time admiring these roses. Oh well, there's always next time! Like, next month! :)

To get to the Seoul Children's Grand Park, take the subway to Children's Grand Park Station, Line 7 Exit 1.

To get to Konkuk University, take the subway to Konkuk University Station Line 2 or 7, Exit 3 or 4.