Places to Go in Seoul

COEX Mall

Just south of the Apgujeong shopping area. You'll find lots of kid-friendly stores and restaurants here. The COEX Aquarium is larger and more expensive than the one at 63 Building (18000KW) but has a huge shark tank and lots of displays. See website.

Christian Class/Bible Study

There's a weekly, interdenominational Bible study group that also offers a Christian-based class and playtime for 2 to 5-year olds while the moms are in their own space. Bible Study Fellowship International http://www.bsfinternational.org/ meets at Youngnak Presbyterian Church in Myung-dong on the B2 level on Thursdays 10a.m. to noon. Newcomers are welcomed the first Thursday of every month.

Christmas Train

Model train display at the Millennium Hilton Hotel. A yearly tradition, the train usually runs from mid/end November to mid February. Well worth a look-see. Watch the EAS forum for information on the opening ceremony in November.

Mokdong Ice Rink

a large facility open to everyone. You may want to wear ear plugs, the music is reallllly loud. http://www.mdicerink.co.kr.

Mug painting in Insa-dong (from the forum)

On the second floor of Insadong's cool new Ssamzie art marketplace, I found a place called Ceraworks (or something like that). They had a table with about four chairs set up in the middle of the shop where one could paint one's own simple ceramic mug. I didn't see other ceramic items to paint, but I was just walking by (following an energetic three-yr-old) so I may have missed other items.

Prices listed were reasonable (perhaps 5,000 won per mug?), and I recall one could even have the finished product delivered for about 2,500 won additional. I thought it could be a fun project for older kids one day now that summer's coming. After all, there is a cafe on the roof of the Ssamzie marketplace where coffee, lunch, smoothies, and other goodies can be had as well. The rest of Insadong itself is a great outing, too.

Samsung Children's Museum

Near Olympic Park and Lotte World in Songpa-gu.

This has three levels of great hands-on activities for preschoolers up to age 10 or 11. They can build a house with giant soft blocks, do crafts, play in water, put balls into an air cannon and much more. No elevator and lots of steps, so don't bring the stroller. It also gets crowded on weekends but they limit admission. You can make a reservation for a certain time on its English website http//www.samsungkids.org/eng/index.asp .There's a Chili's American restaurant down the road and a large bookstore and smaller restaurants in the basement of the Lotte Gold Apartment building across the street. This is a place I would go to a lot more if it wasn't a 45-minute or more drive for me on the very crowded Olympic Freeway.

63 Building Yeouido

This is Seoul's tallest (or second-tallest) building at 63 stories and it is a blast for kids. Try the Observation deck on the 63rd floor (enter and buy tickets from the B1 level) with awesome views all around Seoul, but also just a great place to hang out with the kids on a cold or rainy day for about 5000KW. It usually has a photo display, some kids' games and an ice cream shop and plenty of room for them to just run around. In the basement is an awesome aquarium (11,500KW for adults, kids under 4 are free) with the works penguins, two kinds of seal shows, petting turtles, crabs, otters, rays, and lots and lots of fish tanks. We can spend two hours here easily. Just outside the aquarium exit is a food court and around the corner is a convenience store for snacks. Also on B1 level is the IMAX theater (8000KW adults, kids under 4 free) that sometimes has kid-friendly shows and English headphones. Parking in the 63 Building garage is validated with tickets to one of the attractions. Remember, Yeouido is my neighborhood, so if you're coming by give us a call.

More

When you just need to get the kids out of the house on a cold and/or rainy day and into a large, warm space to walk around I go to the War Memorial Museum near Yongsan or the National Museum of Korea, also in Yongsan, or the National Folk Museum up by Changdeokgung and Cheonwadae. All are large spaces with ramps and stairs that little ones love to climb and something interesting for moms to look at too.