The Korea Herald

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No more lining up for tickets at Seoul Grand Park

By Ko Jun-tae

Published : Sept. 6, 2021 - 17:58

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A view of transit card being used to enter Seoul Grand Park (Seoul Grand Park) A view of transit card being used to enter Seoul Grand Park (Seoul Grand Park)
The Seoul Grand Park will no longer require visitors to line up to buy admission tickets, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Monday.

Seoul City said that the amusement park has poured 5.5 billion won ($4.75 million) into building a new front gate that allows visitors to tag their transit cards to pay for entrance. Visitors can also purchase tickets online and scan the given QR code at sensors installed by the gates to enter the park.

People will still be able to purchase tickets at booths installed at the original location, the city government added. The improvement comes 37 years after the Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, opened its doors in 1984.

The amusement park also joined hands with Kakao Mobility so visitors can use the smartphone application Kakao T to prepay their parking fees before leaving. The app also allows users to search for the number of available parking spaces and which spots are vacant in real time.

An additional parking fee discount of up to 3,000 won per day will be available if the prepay feature is used on the mobile application.

Another app feature recommending the best departure time and alternative parking locations when the parking lot is full will be available in October, the city government added.

The Seoul Grand Park is also starting a trial run of a valet parking service for visitors upon reservation. The service is aimed to help ease congestion over weekends when the park has more visitors. It will cost 15,000 won if paid through mobile phones and 20,000 won if paid by credit card on the spot.

The 5.5 billion-won investment also includes plans for renovating the parking lot pavement and replacing 136 outdated surveillance cameras by the end of this year.