Everland’s mascots dressed in hanbok introduce Lunar New Year’s events at the theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The theme park announced Monday that it is offering a variety of holiday programs, including traditional games and fortune-telling experiences, during the five-day Lunar New Year holiday starting Feb. 14. Courtesy of Samsung C&T
Korean theme parks, resorts and hotels are rolling out family-friendly events that blend tradition with modern entertainment for the Lunar New Year, offering travelers alternatives to going abroad. From folk games to fortune-telling markets and rooftop fusion concerts, destinations are racing to turn the holiday break into a full “K-holiday” experience.
In Seoul, Lotte World is using its cluster of attractions to position Jamsil as an all‑in‑one holiday destination. At Lotte World Adventure, mascots will greet visitors in traditional Korean clothes during the main holiday period, with photo sessions and folk games scheduled throughout the day.
The adjacent Lotte World Folk Museum is pushing a more traditional angle. During the holiday, visitors can try folk games such as the board game "yutnori" and "tuho," a target game, and take part in workshops exploring wishes for prosperity and protection, like hanging talismans or filling fortune pouches with symbolic grains.
Lotte World Aquarium will present aquarists in hanbok in ecology talks and New Year's greeting sessions. They will also bring their penguins out of their enclosure for short processions that double as photo opportunities, and present new programs, incluging capybara “ASMR mukbang” sessions.
An aquarium official feeds a capybara during an "ASMR mukbang" session at Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul in this provided undated photo. Courtesy of Lotte World
Seoul Sky at Lotte World Tower, the 118th floor observatory, will host a short run of evening busking sets by fusion "gugak" groups that reinterpret traditional music for modern ears.
Outside the capital, major leisure brands are trying to keep pace. Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province has built its holiday around a “fortune market” theme that blends younger generations' interest in tarot card reading and Korea's traditional saju fortune telling with photo zones and folk games.
Visitors can queue for brief fortune readings, pose with mascots in New Year backdrops and send children to a folk game zone that runs through the day. Discounts for visitors in hanbok and small in‑park rewards tied to themed cards are meant to nudge more people to dress up and stay longer.
In Gangwon Province, High1 Resort is framing the Lunar New Year as time for a mountain retreat, layering performances, wellness sessions and kids’ programs on top of its ski and water leisure options. Simple traditional experiences such as a dumpling-making classes and folk games will be held alongside bubble parties and wish‑writing events, blurring the line between a holiday program and a regular winter resort schedule.
Source: Korea Times News
