Hwaseong aquarium animal encounters and stamp tour: Artis Theme Park

I met up with my real high-school bestie for the first time in ages, and going to a café felt too predictable and boring, so I looked for something a little different. Then I found out that Artis Theme Park (아르티스테마파크), a new place in Dongtan, was set up so you could visit an indoor animal park and aquarium together?

Honestly, I didn't expect much, but once I went, I immediately got why kids love it. For anyone looking for somewhere to take children in Dongtan on the weekend, I'll show you my real-time review, from parking and admission to the hands-on activities!

Where is Artis Theme Park, and what about parking?

I drove, and since the parking lot is underground, I could park and head straight up.

It was the weekend, though, so there weren't many spaces and parking was a little tricky for a beginner.. ^^;; Still, the counter registered three hours before we entered, so I didn't feel rushed while looking around.

Admission wristbands and free entry for infants

By the way, one infant aged 17 months or younger accompanied by one guardian can enter free.

They may need to confirm the child's age, so if this applies to you, it would be a good idea to bring proof along in advance, right? ☺️

Filling up food containers and interacting with animals

Once inside Artis Theme Park, the experience starts by filling your own container with food to give the animals. You scoop snacks numbered 1 through 6 into it yourself.

Once we'd filled it all up, the proper hands-on experience began. There were reptiles that looked like they had stepped out of a legend, including snake-necked turtles and blue crayfish, which was so fascinating..!

It happened to be a time when we could touch a lizard, so I was lucky enough to pet one. I mean... its skin felt like an exfoliating mitt hahaha. It was rougher than I expected, and such an unfamiliar texture.

We also tried feeding hamsters and guinea pigs. The moment they spotted the food, they followed us around so eagerly that the food we had disappeared in no time... ^^

The parrots were ridiculously cute too... 🦜 I put food in my hand and waited, and the birds swooped right over to peck at it from my palm!

Their feathers looked so soft that I wanted to give the birds a little squish, but I held myself back. Haha

Even we fully grown adults found it this fascinating, so I could only imagine how much fun little kids would have haha. I thought it was definitely worth visiting as a place to take children in Dongtan.

Feeding stingrays and catching shrimp at the aquarium

I thought there would only be land animals, so when underwater creatures suddenly appeared, it made exploring fun in a whole different way. We fed loaches to huge stingrays and saw arapaima and giant catfish—they were even more enormous than I expected, so I was startled!

And it wasn't just about looking here either~! There was also an activity where you could use a hand net to catch little shrimp.

Being able to observe and interact with creatures that are hard to see up close in everyday life, like crabs and crayfish, brought back memories of elementary-school field trips. It was a Dongtan spot where I properly rediscovered my inner child.

Each zone had different animals and activities, so I didn't think kids would get bored easily. Being able to experience a Dongtan indoor animal park and aquarium in one go made me think there couldn't be another place quite like it.

A stamp tour with the exploration map

The exploration map we received on entry also had a stamp mission, with stamps to collect in each zone. At first, I thought, come on, how old are we.. do we really need to do this too? Hahaha

But after getting one stamp, I suddenly got competitive and felt like I had to fill them all in, so my friend and I ended up diligently completing every one.

Collect them all and you get one badge of your choice plus a postcard—a pretty satisfying haul. If a place to take children in Dongtan has this many different things to do and hands-on elements, I think moms would really love it too.

A different kind of half-day outing in Dongtan

After exploring it myself, I realized this wasn't just a simple indoor animal park: you can see, touch, and experience an aquarium too, and it gave me a proper dopamine rush for the first time in ages. If you're like me and don't want anything ordinary but are looking for something a little different to do, spend half a day at Artis Theme Park. 😊