Located on the southeast side of Korea, not too far from Busan, Gyeongju World serves as the region's biggest amusement park.
While the park has four coasters, it suffers from the same problem Korea's other parks have.
The theming is nice but the rides are old and pretty tame.
Three of the coasters opened over 20 years ago (one is nearly 30 years old) and they certainly don't deliver much of a thrill.
The usual Ferris Wheel gives a good view of the grounds and the surrounding countryside.
Phaethon was built in 2007, and is the park's best attraction by far. I can't really say much about it though, as it was closed during my entire visit, due to the cold temperatures (note the snow on the ground).
Space 2000 (or Atomic Coaster) was built in 1991 and has a couple loops. It's not terribly painful, but I didn't ride it a second time.
Tornado is a fun ride at other parks, but it, too, didn't run while I was there.
Here are the entrances to Phaethon and the river rapids ride, called Grand Canyon Adventure. Of course, the water rides were closed, but that's to be expected when it's snowing. I really wish Phaethon had been open, though.
There is a decent collection of carnival rides and attractions.
I really enjoyed walking through the children's section. They did a good job with some theming here, which you'll see a little later.
Space Tour is a small wild mouse-style coaster, which was enclosed and rethemed as a spaceship-type of ride in 2006. It was closed on my visit as well, so there are two coasters I still need to ride here.
Phaethon's lift hill behind a water ride.
So, back to that kid's area. The theming here looks pretty new, so a recent renovation might have spruced up a bunch of the rides. There's a walkthrough area called Wizard's Garden with some great scenery.
I tried to return to the park on my second visit, but due to expected rain all day, the park's rides were essentially closed. I suppose the third time will be the charm here to get all four credits.
Also at the park is a full-on water park and a "culture expo" of some sort; I haven't checked out either.
Park hours can vary greatly depending on the season; in July they ranged from 9:50-18:15 to 8:50-20:45. Admission is 20,000 won ($20) and a free pass is 35,000 won ($35) for adults.
Access isn't too hard, though it can be a little bit tricky. From Seoul, take the KTX to Singyeongju Station. From there, catch bus 203 (or others) to the intercity bus terminal, where you'll need to catch bus 100 (faster) or bus 10 (slower, but can be more frequent) to the park. Keep your eyes open - bus 10's stop is just after the park, but bus 100 approaches from another direction and you'll need to listen for the correct stop (
보문매운탕앞 - good luck with that one); you can basically see the park on the left side just as you reach the stop.
Google Maps has good bus information for Gyeongju (and most of Korea) so routing from Seoul can be done through its directions feature. It's also possible to take an intercity bus to Gyeongju and skip some of the steps above; ask at the visitor's center for whatever city you're in.
There is a visitor's center with minor English ability (enough to get directions and such) at the Gyeongju intercity bus terminal. The bus terminal clerks don't really speak English.
As always in Korea, I recommend having your destination's name and address written in Korean characters to point at when asking directions or taking taxis.
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