I think this is the longest I’ve gone without making a post in a while. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, to say the least, and I’ve been doing a lot of other things (including moping around and having a mental breakdown), but I’m feeling much better now, so I’m back at it. As the weather has suddenly been turning inappropriately cold around here, it seemed like a great time to share an indoor adventure we went on back in September. (Or maybe it was October… I don’t know. Time is a conspiracy, man.)
Osan Bird Park
We visited the park with my friend Lydia and her kids – and going anywhere with ten kids is ALWAYS an adventure. We had both been wanting to visit Osan Bird Park for a long while, so we were excited to finally make it happen. Until we realized how expensive it was… which apparently neither of us had thought to check beforehand. Oops.. Still, we were already enjoying the company and the kids were excited to see some birds. We made our way upstairs to the cage of finches and found out that we could actually go INSIDE the enclosure. I was impressed by how well the kids did – loading up their hands with birdseed and letting the kids fly all over them – and I was even more impressed that none of the kids got pooped on.
The highlight of our visit was when Lydia and I got one of the birds (pictured below) to say 안녕하세요 (or “hello” in Korean) as clear as day. Of course, when we went back to try to get a recording of him saying it, we had no luck. And it wasn’t long until said bird evidently got tired of the attention and scared us off with it’s squawking and literally chasing us out of the enclosure.
The variety of birds (among other animals) at Osan Bird Park WAS impressive, although many of the birds were noticeably irritated and some were even aggressive. We got through without incident (the worst being some birds charging at us and squawking), but we definitely stopped having the kids enter the enclosures by the end.
And here’s where I’m going to give my honest review: we had a lot of fun, but we had some complaints. For one, it smelled as you’d expect an indoor zoo to smell (which wouldn’t have been a surprise, except Uncle Brooks Zoo in Sosabeol is an actual indoor zoo and didn’t smell like one at all) and honestly the animals did NOT look like they were doing well. People make a big stink about how the bears are in small cages at Bear Tree Park in Sejong, but this one was definitely sadder than that. I’m not an animal rights activist by any stretch of the imagination, but the state of some of the animals at this park did make me sad.
Even so, we did enjoy our time there and the kids had a really great time. My kids said it was one of their favorite things that we’d done recently – which is saying a lot because we’ve done A LOT – so that is always a win. And besides, any adventure with Lydia and her kids is always wonderful, so I really can’t complain too much.
’til next time…
Ash
How to visit Osan Bird Park
Directions & Parking: It takes about 35 minutes to drive from Camp Humphreys (Yoon Gate area) to Osan Bird Park. It is located on the first floor of Osan City Hall and has a large parking lot (we paid less than ₩6,000 to park there). To get to Osan Bird Park, head to the front of the building (the side of the building where you entered the parking lot) and head toward the playground. The front entrance for the park is adjacent to the playground.
Naver pin: Osan City Hall
Naver pin: Osan City Hall Parking Lot
Cost:
Adult – ₩23,000
Child – ₩19,000
Hours of Operation: Open daily from 10:00am – *7:00pm
*Last entry one hour before closing
Accessibility: The park is mostly accessible for strollers and wheelchairs – although the enclosures are not accessible.
Amenities: There are bathrooms located inside the park itself, as well as a cafe and a gift shop. Just outside the front door is a playground. In the summer, it becomes a huge splash park that is really unmatched.
