The summer can get very hot and humid in Korea, as a result, most of the people refuse to travel to Korea in the summer. If you are looking for some interesting and fun summer activities, you can head down to Gapyeong to enjoy some water sports. Trust me, it is definitely a good choice to splash away your summer blues.
Gapyeong is a small town, famous all over Korea for pine nuts(찻) and Nami island(남이섬). In October, Gapyeong hosts the annual International Jazz Festival on Jara island(자라섬). Besides, Gapyeong is popular with people taking a weekend away from Seoul. It can become busy on the weekends with people coming to stay in the many pensions in the surrounding area. The area is very mountainous, so hiking and MTB are popular things to do here.
Most visited tourist attractions: Nami Island, Petite France, The Morning Calm Garden
This time I chose not to visit those places, instead I tried out what the locals love to do in summer, playing water sports in a water leisure park.
Read More: French themed village in South Korea – Le’ Petite France
If you are fans of one of the most popular Korean variety shows Running Man, then you might be familiar and have seen a water leisure park in one of its episodes.
Fun fact: Koreans call these water sports as ‘빠지’ (ppa ji).
‘빠지’ (ppa ji) or in a correct root word form 빠지다 (ppa ji da) has a meaning of to fall into (especially of water)/to lapse or sink into a state (e.g. love, drunkenness). As its name ‘빠지’, be ready to soak in the cool lake water and get yourself wet. How exciting !
There are quite a few water leisure parks around the Gapyeong area, you might choose according to your preference. Ticket prices may vary from KRW 10,000 up to more than KRW 90,000 (for 2D1N package). CHOOSE WISELY !
After doing some research, I decided to visit WATERPLAY water leisure park as the reviews on the internet are all positive.
WATERPLAY leisure park provides several types of passes and packages including the entry ticket only, the one-hour unlimited, the two-hour unlimited, the three-hour unlimited, the full-day unlimited, the 2D1N package and more. I opted for the three-hour unlimited package as it was my first time and I did not want to exhaust myself.
| Entry ticket only | 4,900 KRW |
| One-hour unlimited package | 16,900 KRW |
| Two-hour unlimited package | 19,900 KRW |
| Three-hour unlimited package | 21,900 KRW |
| Full-day unlimited package | 26,900 KRW |
*prices are subject to change.
Get ready for some exciting water games ! Oh wait, do not forget about the life jacket. Life jackets were distributed there for free. Isn’t it good news for those who are not quite good at swimming ? Do not worry, you will float anyway. Just make sure your life jacket is fastened before splashing away your summer blues.
Among all the games, Disco Pang Pang was my favorite until I played twice for it. There are only hand grips on both sides of your seat, nothing else on the float to prevent you from falling into the water. However, once the staff starts dragging, be prepared to fall off from the float, especially those that sit at both ends.
You could take a bus from Seoul Express Bus Terminal to Gapyeong but I would say that it is more convenient to take the subway or ITX(high-speed train). The travel time might take up to an hour. Once you reach Gapyeong Station, you can take a taxi or take the shuttle bus arranged by the water leisure park.
