Anagon: Yongma Land: Abandoned Theme Park in Seoul

Thursday, April 12, 2018

My fascination for abandoned theme parks started when I saw an Instagram post around 2 years ago of a Pinay who went up the railings of a roller coaster in an abandoned amusement park in Japan. I forgot who the girl is and where the theme park is exactly located, but I found it cool and interesting to visit something that long before was a happy place. Pwede pala yun noh? Once a smash hit is now napabayaan na, or that you can still visit these places and still find them interesting. Sabi nga nila "full of stories"!

Anyway, when I got back from Seoul after my main mission of chasing spring in Daegu, hala I had no more plans. I still have TWO FULL DAYS, so naisip ko maybe it's time to visit that abandoned theme park in Seoul?! MABUTI NALANG TALAGA, my new friend Jari messaged me to let her know lang if I am back in Seoul and kailangan ko ng kasama, haha! I know I can do it by myself, but I think a trip to an abandoned theme park is more fun (and less scary!) with a friend!

Jari and I met in Mangu Station, said to be just 20 minutes away to Yongma Land. Upon exiting the subway, Jari asked a vendor for directions and was told to just ride a cab. And buti nalang, while watching the streets we passed by from Mangu Station to Yongma Land, hindi sya 10-minute walk lang! Hahaha. Taxi fare is just about 3000 KRW for 10 minutes.

The cab was able to enter just enough till a hilly area where cars cannot enter, and so we paid for the fare before the climb. You can already see some of the old rides from outside, and it's as if we were transported straight to a 1) Horror Movie 2) Dramatic Music Video 3) Editorial Shoot .. Haha! Good thing I saw Jari super enthusiastic with the morning's agenda! Didn't know someone will also take interest in this kind of location, so yehey!

The gates were closed as expected. Muntikan na namin talunan ni Jari, if hindi lang may dumating biglang ahjussi and asked us for a fee. May bayad padin pala, hahaha! Inside, there were I think two different couples with their tripods and selfie sticks taking pictures while on the rides. May rental pala dun ng tripod and selfie sticks if kailangan mo, hahaha! It's not a working theme park, but it did became popular thus may entrance fee and kumikita padin sila a! Bongga! I think we paid KRW 5000 for the entrance.

And what else is there to do inside an abandoned theme park? Take photos of course! Haha! Presenting, our little themed shoot in Yongma Land! Thank you dear Jari for my own photos! :)))

We went to almost all the rides and climbed whatever is climbable. Haha! Was it scary? Not really, maybe it's because we went in the morning and there were other groups who were there with us. I love that overcast din when we went to Yongma, so it wasn't so hot and uncomfortable!

Thank you internet, I also saw some music videos that were shot here over the years. Actually even inside the big castle may photo shoot that day kaya naka lock. Naiimagine ko sya for prenups! So yep, it's still profitable and even had that added charm after being called "abandoned"! Haha! Imagine if our own Water Fun or old theme parks get this idea and open their old resort as an abandoned theme park hehehe for sure madami ding aavail for photo shoots dun!!