Kids-only ocean sea walk at Gimnyeong Port, Jeju: Underwater Play

What is sea walking at Underwater Play in Gimnyeong, Jeju?

Continuing my posts about our summer family trip. We went to Jeju Island for a family vacation combined with our summer holiday. We spent 7 nights and 8 days on Jeju, so we could really enjoy a relaxed trip, which was great.

Among everything we did, I want to share the Jeju activity the kids loved the most. It's sea walking — the name itself is unfamiliar, but it's literally an experience of walking on the seafloor. Underwater Play, walking beneath the ocean. Pretty amazing, right?

I'd only seen it on Instagram before, but I figured it would be a wonderful experience for our kid to fully walk through and look around Jeju's blue sea, so we gave it a try — and the satisfaction level was very high. Let me share the actual videos and photos from the experience, along with what the kids felt and my own vivid impressions as a parent watching from the side. This is the ultimate Jeju activity, a unique Jeju experience — let's dive into sea walking now.

Where Underwater Play is and how weather decides sea or indoor sessions

The address is Underwater Play, inside the Gimnyeong Fisheries Culture Complex, 50-11 Gimnyeonghang 1-gil, Gujwa-eup, Jeju City, Jeju. When the weather is good, you walk directly in the sea; when it isn't, it's run indoors. The day we visited, the weather was so nice that we went out to the real ocean for sea walking.

So nice, right? The weather, I mean haha. There's a photo zone here too, so we took some pretty pictures. The Gimnyeong Fisheries Culture Complex has various other activities besides sea walking, apparently. We only did the sea walking, given our budget and schedule. The view here is amazing too — a great spot to just space out while the kids play. So we took a lot of photos.

Because it's an activity that actually walks through the sea, you can vividly see the sea creatures too. They capture it all on video and in photos. Amazing, right? That's why it's the hottest activity in Jeju right now.

You get to see such a beautiful view here. The sea color is gorgeous, but the sky color holds its own too. If you're traveling the east or north side of Jeju, don't miss this place. There's parking available and the experience time is nicely arranged. Above all, the kids absolutely love it.

Safety training and what to bring before getting in the water

Before going into the sea, the kids first take a training session. Safety matters most, of course. Since conversation underwater is difficult, they explain things like hand signals and how to handle discomfort or requests when they come up. The training took about 10 to 15 minutes.

Only the kids can do the experience, and a teacher personally accompanies them into the sea. So for what to bring, you need clothes that can get wet — we brought swimsuits and rash guards. There was also a space inside where you could buy souvenirs.

There were dogs that welcomed the kids too, and they were so cute. Both dogs really loved people. They were so charming that we lost more than 10 minutes just playing with them. They felt like the mascots of this place.

Now it's time to get ready to go into the sea. They put on a diver helmet that supplies air. They thoroughly check beforehand that the oxygen supply is working properly. Safety comes first.

After finishing the training and warming up, the kids go down into the sea like this. They stepped in one foot at a time, half excited and half nervous. Watching from the side, we were nervous and excited too. The teacher goes down into the water with them, and they enter in groups. Naturally, each group is only as large as the teacher can properly look after.

So fascinating, right? I wanted to go down too, but the kids got first priority. Adults can do the experience as well. While listening to the training, the kids were practically bursting with excitement, and their anticipation was huge right up until they went in.

What fish you see on the Gimnyeong sea floor

Underwater, the teacher films everything for you. There were apparently a huge number of fish. It's basically a real aquarium. It gets a bit dark once you go down, but the fish are still very visible, and since you're really walking on the seafloor, you can see the fish as you walk.

Once inside, the kids looked a bit scared, and the teacher made sure to hold them close the whole time. So many fish, right? After finishing the experience and coming out, the kids talked a mile a minute about how amazing it was.

There really were so many fish, and it was a two-in-one experience for our kid — a rare activity on top of it. We've been to an aquarium before, but the chance to meet this many fish actually in the sea is almost unheard of.

They even got to feed the fish and touch them. The fish crowded around the kids like they were celebrities, and the kids observed and enjoyed themselves with real delight.

The underwater dol hareubang (Jeju stone grandfather) photo spot

On the way down, we ran into a dol hareubang (Jeju's iconic stone grandfather statue). We got a photo with it, a nice reminder that this really is the Jeju sea. The teacher stays close, watching over the kids and helping them meet even more fish.

We also got a shot with the dol hareubang, great for Instagram or as a proof-of-visit photo. I had no idea Jeju had an experience like this — my wife found it, and it really upgraded the quality of our trip.

I loved that it wasn't just another ordinary trip — it became a special experience for the kids, one that'll stay in their memory for a long time. Our younger one already went and bragged about it at kindergarten. Oh, and side note, looking back at these photos, that evening we ate delicious sashimi at a Jeju sushi restaurant haha.

If you want a unique Jeju experience or want to see Jeju's beautiful undersea world, make sure to add sea walking to your itinerary. I don't think you'll regret it.

Showers, changing rooms, reservations and other tips

Even though your clothes get wet during the experience, there are showers and changing rooms inside, so as long as you have a spare change of clothes, it's not a big deal. And if your itinerary doesn't include going to a beach right after sea walking, it's also nice to just shower off cleanly here before heading out.

They enjoyed sea walking while spotting the types of fish we'd looked up beforehand. From a kid's point of view, seeing fish this way rather than in a tank probably feels way more fascinating and fun.

Honestly, it's hard to go into the actual sea in daily life, but being able to feed and observe fish directly meant this became a deeply positive memory of our Jeju trip.

We came back having met a dol hareubang and all kinds of fascinating fish — a true underwater sea walking play. They even counted the fish, apparently over 100 of them haha.

The fish really do come this close. During peak season, a lot of people do this experience, but we happened to visit right after peak season ended, so we got to enjoy it at a relaxed pace. That said, reservations are required.

Once the activity ends, they issue the kids something like a certificate — an explorer award. The service is really thoughtful, isn't it? They clearly understand what kids want.

They guide you on how to get the underwater photos taken during the experience, and following their instructions, you can download all the photos — and the videos too. During our Jeju trip, we rode horses, enjoyed the beach, and did sea walking, doing a lot of things — but this was the one they mentioned the most. If you're planning a family trip to Jeju, or looking for something to do while traveling the north or east side of the island, I highly recommend checking out Underwater Play sea walking.