Otter and anteater feeding for kids at Artis Theme Park, Hwaseong

There's one thing my kids always say the moment they see an animal. "Mom, can I feed it?" "Can I touch this?" Hahahaha.

Since my kids love feeding animals, I was looking around for somewhere new to take them and ended up at Artis Theme Park, where you can not only feed the animals but touch them too.

This visit was through a Super Members experience. Long story short... mom's battery drained completely, kids were fully satisfied lol. There was way more to do than I expected, so we ended up spending almost a full 3 hours there.

Artis Theme Park near Dongtan Station: parking and restrooms

Artis Theme Park is near Dongtan Station and Lotte Department Store, so it wasn't hard to find. We drove there — the parking lot is decent, but a bit narrow, so depending on your car it might be a tight squeeze. After parking, take the elevator to the 9th floor and you'll find the ticket counter.

If you're visiting with kids, definitely use the restroom before going in — there isn't one inside! There is a nursing room set up separately, though.

A huge aquarium right as you walk in

The moment we got to the 9th floor, the kids' eyes went wide lol. There's a massive aquarium right in front of you, and at first I thought, "wait, is this a zoo or an aquarium?" haha. Starting with the Oompa Loompa tank, the scale is pretty impressive and it grabs the kids' attention right away.

Get a waiting number, then fill your feeding cup first

You don't just pay and walk straight in — you get a waiting number, write your name on a name tag, and wait for your number to be called. Once it's called, you're finally in!

The first thing you do is prep the food the kids love lol. You fill a feeding cup with food items numbered 1 through 6, one by one. Just watching the kids hold their own feeding cups and fill them was already exciting for them lol.

Now that the food is ready, the real experience begins!

Touching everything from rhinoceros beetles to crickets

What made Artis Theme Park fun was that it wasn't just about looking at animals — there's an actual touching experience. Not every animal can be touched though; only ones with a green name tag are available for direct contact. The kids touched a rhinoceros beetle and a cricket.

My kids are so brave 🤣

We touched an iguana too

They also got to touch an iguana. My second was a little scared, but my eldest was fearless as always haha. The moment I saw the iguana, it suddenly reminded me of our own pet, Pudding lol. My kids and I stood there for a while going "this reminds me of Pudding~" 🤣

Fish feeding on infinite repeat lol

And this is where the kids stayed the longest! Fish feeding.

We started feeding and... it was over in a flash lol. The kids fed so enthusiastically that the food disappeared instantly. But then I noticed a little food scattered on the floor that other people had dropped. So we picked it up and fed it again lol, again, and again, an endless loop 🤣. You can also buy extra food along the way — if your kids are into it, doing an extra round of feeding is worth it.

My eldest went crazy when a turtle climbed up

There are turtles too, not just fish. And one turtle kept trying to climb the stairs lol.

Mom!! The turtle's climbing up!!

My eldest saw that and completely lost it 🤣. Kids find it amazing just seeing the animals move around this close.

Carrots for the rabbits and guinea pigs

We also met rabbits and guinea pigs. The food was carrots! Watching the kids hold out carrots and feed the rabbits and guinea pigs, they ate so eagerly lol.

There was a lop-eared rabbit in particular that ate so much, the sign said it was overweight lol. Reading little details like that let us learn about each animal's characteristics too.

Time disappeared at the doctor fish + starfish touch pool

And here's where the kids got completely hooked! The doctor fish and starfish experience. We put our hands right in and tried doctor fish, then touched the starfish too.

On top of that, there's also sea turtle feeding! It honestly took us a while just to get here, and the doctor fish, starfish, and fish feeding alone kept us busy for ages lol.

As a mom I was thinking, "there's still this much left to see..." 🤣

We saw a horseshoe crab and tried other hands-on experiences

We also saw a real horseshoe crab and observed a variety of marine creatures up close. Seeing and touching creatures they usually only see in books or videos will definitely stick in the kids' memory.

The anteater we saw for the first time — so fascinating lol

And the animal I personally found most fascinating — the anteater!!! It was actually my first time seeing one up close in person too. It happened to be sleeping, but when the keeper shook the feeding container, it slowly woke up and shuffled over lol.

Then it stuck out its long~~ tongue and started eating! Once it seemed to finish, it just... went back to sleep lolol. It was so funny 🤣. Since it was our first time seeing an anteater, both the kids and I were amazed.

Otter feeding experience, ₩5,000

And my personal favorite animal at Artis — the otter ❤️. You can see the adorable otters and also do an otter feeding experience. The cost is ₩5,000!

But that's not all. The otter brings you a stone as a gift lol. You get to take that stone home. The kids were so happy about it 🤣.

While feeding, we also got to lightly touch the otter's paw — or hand, whichever it is lol — such a cute little detail. My eldest fearlessly touched it, while my second got scared, so I did it together with her lol.

But seriously... otters are so cute ❤️. I was completely won over by the otter that day lol.

Pelican and budgie feeding, plus shrimp catching

And it doesn't stop there. There's pelican and budgie feeding too.

There's also crayfish, hermit crab, and shrimp catching. We heard if you catch 3 shrimp you can take them home, so the kids went at it hard lol.

As soon as we got them home... they died ㅠㅠ lolol. Still, the moment of catching them was super exciting 🤣.

We tried stingray feeding too

We also did the stingray feeding experience. The food was frozen loach!

When you drop in the loach, the stingray glides slowly over and gobbles it up lol. The kids were fascinated and kept watching, touching, trying everything, and feeding the animals — they really loved it.

And of course, it ends at the kids' café lol

Artis Theme Park isn't just about animal experiences. At the end, there's a play area for kids and activities like drawing too.

By this point... mom's stamina was already at zero lolol. I was just sitting there resting, but where did my youngest find more energy 🤣. She suddenly asked a girl she'd never met, "how old are you?" lol, and the two instantly became friends and played happily together.

One free drink for guardians

One more thing I loved — accompanying guardians get one free drink, so I grabbed an iced tea and sipped it while waiting for the kids to play.

But... "okay guys, let's go now"... no matter how many times I said it, they had zero intention of leaving lolol. Since our parking was only free for 3 hours and time was running out, we ended up rushing them out 🤣.

A very satisfying spot for things to do in Hwaseong with kids

At first I went in thinking, "let's just feed some animals and go~" but there turned out to be way more experiences than I expected.

• Fish feeding
• Turtles
• Rabbits, guinea pigs
• Doctor fish, starfish
• Stag beetles, crickets
• Iguana
• Anteater and otter
• Pelican, budgie
• Stingray

And on top of all that, more playtime at the kids' café at the end lol.

What I loved most was being able to see and directly experience this many animals up close in a single day. If your kids enjoy hands-on feeding and touching over just watching, this place will really satisfy them.

My second even skipped her nap and passed out the moment we got in the car lolol. My eldest, the second she saw her dad, launched into a play-by-play of the whole day 🤣. Another day gone by with the kids. Mom was really exhausted... but hey, as long as you two had fun ❤️.

If you're trying to figure out where to go with kids in Hwaseong, give Artis Theme Park a try — it lets you enjoy a Hwaseong indoor animal park, a Hwaseong aquarium, and a Hwaseong kids' café all in one place 😊.

Artis Theme Park visit info

• Address: 9th floor, Sinyu Medi Plaza, 10 Dongtan-daero 19-gil, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Weekdays 13:00–19:00 / weekends and holidays 12:00–19:00, last entry 18:00, open year-round (hours may change, check before visiting)
• Parking: basement levels 1–3, free for 3 hours
• Admission: entry ticket and feeding experience tickets sold separately (prices may vary by visit date, check before booking)
• No restroom inside / nursing room available
• Animal feeding and touching experiences available, kids' play area on site