Daejeon Discovery: A Short Getaway to a City for Kids!
I recently took a short trip to Daejeon, partly for work and partly for a quick getaway!
Since the main purpose wasn't vacation, I didn't have much planned except for the accommodation.
Seriously, who said Daejeon is a boring city? It felt like a city designed for children! ♥
There were so many free public water parks for kids operating during the summer.
To be honest, my only plan when departing was to visit Sungsimdang bakery (lol).
I even booked a room at the Lotte City Hotel right in front of the Sungsimdang DCC branch.
I vaguely thought, 'Let's go for some water fun since it's summer!'
I considered visiting Jangtaesan Recreational Forest or, if the traffic wasn't bad on a weekday, Donghaksa Valley.
I only packed a rash guard for my child and left without preparing any water gear for myself.
But then, as I was lying in the hotel room, I noticed something across the street...
It was a slide that looked undeniably fun (!!). I thought, 'Oh no, am I going to miss out on all the fun again?' haha.
So, I looked it up and found out it was the Hanbat Arboretum Children's Water Park.
It turned out that reservations were essential due to limited capacity ㅠㅠ
Since our hotel was only a 5-minute distance from Hanbat Arboretum, we decided to check for cancellations.
As a second option, we considered the Daedeok Research Complex water park or the Ojeong Daehwa Neighborhood Park.
I looked it up in the morning but they were all sold out. Luckily, I managed to snag a cancellation ticket 20 minutes before entry! Lucky me!
I'll share more details about booking cancellation tickets at the end of this post.
I made the reservation 20 minutes before and rushed over in 10 minutes to get in, haha.
I searched for the Pyeongsong Youth Culture Center parking lot as it seemed the closest.
But because it was such a hot summer day, there weren't too many visitors to the arboretum, so parking wasn't difficult.
We arrived late, after other reservation holders had already entered, so we showed our text message and quickly entered without lining up.
There was a cancellation ticket waiting line, but it seemed like everyone got in that day (weekday).
If you have a camping chair, be sure to bring it ★★★★★
Maybe it was because I entered in the second session, but the ground was damp everywhere, so a picnic mat wouldn't be very helpful.
Even the areas that didn't seem to have water were mostly damp.
I didn't prepare anything because I was planning to go to a valley, but I had a chair with me, haha.
It was very useful... hehe.
The water park extends way back there!!
And it's free!!!! Amazing, right?
I love Daejeon... it's the best... I'm so jealous.....
One of the best features of Hanbat Arboretum Children's Water Park is that it's entirely shaded.
The high temperature that day was a crazy 37 degrees Celsius.....
If it wasn't shaded, my skin would have gotten burnt, but it was great to play in the shade.
It wasn't just some tents providing shade; it was held under the Expo Science Park movable shelter,
It felt like a perfect combination of the advantages of outdoor and indoor spaces, making it a very enjoyable water play experience.
I went without any water play gear, but life jackets and tubes were all available for rent!
By the time we settled in, it was almost 2:30 PM, halfway through the first session, but there were still plenty of life jackets available.
For your information, it operates on a 45-minute play, 15-minute break system every hour.
The water park is entirely shaded, so the water was cold, and my child even said they were cold at one point.
I was worried that 45 minutes wouldn't be enough for my child, but it was great to take them out to get some sun in between and then let them play again.
A fish in water... or rather, a child in water....
There were many safety personnel inside and outside the pool.
They safely controlled the children going up the slide one by one and helped them at the bottom of the slide.
There's also a large slide that's great for older kids!
Oh, one more thing.
You can't enter the pool without a hat.
It's okay to be outside the water, but even if you're just there as a guardian and not going in the water, you still need a hat.
So, be sure to bring a hat.
We didn't bring hats, so my husband went out to buy one, haha. He had to play with the kid, haha.
You can freely enter and exit with the admission bracelet.
When it's cold, come out and do the challenge run~
The challenge run has no water, so it's great to come out and run when it's cold, haha.
The safety personnel appropriately matched kids with similar heights and builds and let them start, so it's okay to go alone ♥.
Besides the slide, there's also a pool where you can just splash around!
There are also large tubes that you can climb on or hang from,
And there's something like a volleyball net, so if you bring a beach ball, the kids will love it.
(It's a bit chaotic because there are so many people... but that's part of the fun, haha.)
The super-sized slide that I saw from the hotel was only for those over 120cm tall and under 45kg!
Let's come back when you're bigger at 7^^.
2025 Hanbat Arboretum Children's Water Park Summary
Operating Period
July 24 (Thu) ~ August 17 (Sun)
※ Closed every Monday / Closed in case of inclement weather
Sessions
Session 1: 10:00 AM ~ 1:00 PM
Session 2: 2:00 PM ~ 5:00 PM
※ Break Time: 1:00 PM ~ 2:00 PM
(Operates for 45 minutes every hour, with a 15-minute break)
Admission Eligibility
Children under 13 years old + guardians only
(Teenagers over 14 years old and adults cannot enter alone)
'Hanbat Arboretum Water Park' is a dedicated space only for children under elementary school age.
Middle school students cannot enter unless they are guardians.
Some middle school students may be under 13 years old,
But if the student status is 'middle school student', they are not considered children and admission is restricted.
What to Bring
Essential - Hat, water or drinks, large towel or beach gown (for child's body temperature)
Recommended - Chair, beach ball
Everything else was either unnecessary or could be rented!
Reservation Method
Reservation on the hanbatwater website
Reservations are only possible on the hanbatwater website.
Green [Yes] means reservations are available.
Yellow [Full] means the time slot is sold out and reservations are not possible.
Cancellation tickets can be waited for on-site, but they are also released on the website in real-time, so keep checking the website for reservations.
I was able to successfully book a 2 PM entry on the same day at 1:42 PM, haha.
Hope you all have a great vacation!
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