Goyang is a satellite city of Seoul and it is located in the north part of Seoul. Early 1990th Goyang was designated as one of the 7 planned cities. Since then, Goyang has slowly expanded and is now connected with Seoul. These days when you get on the Seoul metro line number 3, you can easily visit Goyang city! It takes less than 40 minutes to get there! Goyang is famous for hiking in the mountains and taking a walk around Ilsan Hosu Lake!

Ilsan Lake Park

Ilsan Lake Park

One Mount

It is an excellent place to take a walk and ride a bicycle. When walking along the lake, you can see that many people spend time there with family. There is even an outdoor library where people can rest and read a book. Every Spring and Autumn, the Goyang International Flower Festival takes place! And there is also a small animal zoo. You can see some rabbits, squirrels, cranes and even meerkats. Because of many different trees, flowers, and plants, it is also very nice place for couples to spend time together! At the top of the lake there is a massive big square, with a huge fountain! Around the fountain, there are some building complexes for families to enjoy.

Ilsan Lake Park

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Aqua Planet

I went to one of them, namely Aqua Planet. It is a small zoo which has a farm on the rooftop. Aqua Planet is owned by the Hanhwa company which is famous for its 63 story building in Seoul. On weekdays, the ticket price is 23,000 won and on weekends, the ticket price is 29,000 won. There are three sections: The Aqua, The Jungle, and The Skyfarm. After buying tickets, you have to go to the second floor to enter The Aqua. The Aqua is very well organized, just like a museum. That’s why there were lots of students on their field trip.

Fish

Worms

Lemur

Sloth

The most interesting point is that you can see a walrus in the open aquarium! Make sure to watch out as it can splash water on you! After The Aqua, you will pass through The Jungle. In The Jungle, you will see some birds and jungle animals like lemurs and sloths. So cute! The exciting part is that you could see lemurs and the sloth without being behind a fence or cage! Just be careful because they could come closer to you! I was so excited to see them up close! They are so fluffy. I definitely recommend visiting here. Especially with kids!

Pony

The last stage is The Skyfarm which is on the top of the building! There are farm animals which you can feed and even ride some of them! To ride the pony, you have to pay extra. After visiting the aquarium, I visited the information center which is just next to it. You can rest here and get information about the city!

Goats

Aqua Planet

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My accommodation was located in the residential area of Goyang city. It was nearby Ilsan Lake park! In central Seoul I got on metro line number 3 (Orange line) toward Ilsan. It took about 40 to 50 minute to arrive at Madu station from Anguk station. Subway line 3 comes quite often. Since I booked the room, I kept getting messages from the host. She doesn’t really speak English so if you speak even just a little Korean that would be really helpful. She told me it’s approximately 7 to 8 minutes to go from Madu station to the accommodation. Upon arrival at the area of the accommodation, you can see all the same apartment buildings. It took me some time to find the right apartment. Once you find the apartment, you need to enter the password to open the front door. My accommodation was located on the 14th floor of the apartment complex which is at the top of the building. I was excited to see the view of the city from my accommodation! In front of the door, there were some English decorations to welcome the guests. The banner “Home Sweet Home” made me smile. After entering the password, I could finally enter the accommodation. The apartment looked a little old but inside was fine.

Kitchen

Bed

When you get into the accommodation, both the left and right side are full of pictures and writings of the previous visitors. It was quite impressive to see all the pictures and writings. Later when I was chatting with her, she said she likes running marathons and that her goal is to attend all the major marathons in the world. Because of this, she has traveled many times. I stayed in the room which has a bathroom and bathtub. The room was quite big and there was a small table to drink tea. If you need to use the laptop, there is another table which you can use to work at. The room was very cozy so it really feels like being at home. When it was evening, around 9 to 10 pm, the host family came to ask and check on me to see if I needed anything like hot water to eat noodles, whether I ate dinner or not, and any trash to put outside.

Bedroom Desk

The next morning, she prepared a simple breakfast for me (sandwich, boiled eggs, cream soup, and some fruits). She was very friendly to chat with and she explained all the history and touristic information of Goyang city! When you are about to leave the house, she might ask you to take a picture that she will put on the board. Even after checking out the accommodation, she texted me to ask about my trip! A very friendly woman!