Front-row hand shadow show at Gwanggyo kids' theater: Magic & Joy

Hi, this is Ttami. Hope everyone had a good weekend! Every weekend I rack my brain over what to do with the kids, and last week, while looking up things to do in Suwon with kids, I discovered a children's magic show and went to see it.

The Suwon Magic & Joy kids' show runs every weekend at Gwanggyo Galleria Department Store, with three shows a day. The kids stayed amazed and locked in for the whole performance — here's my review of this Suwon kids' show.

Magic & Joy Gwanggyo kids' magic show: times, tickets and prices

You can catch the Magic & Joy kids' magic performance on the 10th floor of Gwanggyo Galleria Department Store — just head for the CGV. Show times are Saturday and Sunday at 11am, 2pm, and 4pm, and the department store gives you 3 hours of supported parking.

• Show times ⏰ Sat/Sun 11am, 2pm, 4pm
• Parking 🅿️ Galleria Department Store (3 hours supported)
• ✔️ Free entry for children under 36 months

Since my second kid is 33 months old, I bought 2 parent tickets and 1 child ticket through Naver Reservation.

How does parking and ticket pickup work at Galleria Gwanggyo?

We booked the Saturday 2pm Magic & Joy show and left with plenty of buffer for parking, but luckily it didn't take long, so we arrived a comfortable hour before showtime. We'd already had a filling lunch, so we headed straight up to the 10th floor CGV.

After confirming the reservation for the kids' show and getting the tickets printed, you show the ticket at the CGV box office and they register 3 hours of parking for you.

While waiting for the magic show to start, I couldn't resist the popcorn smell and ended up snacking on some while we waited 😋 Apparently popcorn is allowed inside the theater too.

The Magic & Joy waiting area has a photo zone and magic props on display, so taking pictures and looking around kept the wait from feeling boring at all.

You can enter the kids' magic show 10 minutes before it starts, and seating is first-come, first-served.

What the participatory magic show looks like from the front row

We walked into the Magic & Joy theater almost last, but the center seats in the very front row were still open, so we got to sit right up front. Before the show, the lights were off, and in the dark my older one got scared and clung to my hand — but the moment the magic show started, she was so locked in that she let go of my hand entirely 🤣

My older kid was the first to raise a hand to help the magician and went up on stage — she looked nervous but pulled off her role bravely.

A bird just appeared out of nowhere — genuinely mind-blowing. My younger one bravely went up on stage too, struck a pose for a photo, and even got to pet the bird once.

It's a kids' magic show, but even I, an adult, kept gasping "wow" through the whole thing. Since it's a participatory show, the magician threw out quizzes and gave the kids plenty of chances to come up on stage, which made it even more fun. The magician also responded cheerfully to the kids' questions, which made them love it even more.

Kids who answered quiz questions got rabbit headbands, and every child in the audience received a magic book of their own.

The closing hand shadow show: 50 minutes at Magic & Joy

At the very end of the Magic & Joy kids' magic show, they put on a hand shadow show too. Between the magic performance and the shadow show, the whole thing was so packed with content that 50 minutes flew by, and I found myself thinking, wait, it's already over?

The kids practiced with their gifted magic books the whole way home, and kept playing with them at home right up until bedtime. If you're looking for things to do in Suwon with kids or a Suwon children's show, I'd definitely recommend catching the Magic & Joy kids' magic show!