Address: Gyeongsangnam-do, Goseong-gun, Hoehwa-myeon, Danghangman-lo 1116
Goseong is one of the top three places worldwide for producing dinosaur footprint fossils. The Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park hosts the Goseong Dinosaur World Expo.
The Goseong Dinosaur World Expo Theme Park is a totally different place from the Goseong Dinosaur Museum at Sangjogam Park, which is about 45 minutes away.
Experiencing the Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park and Museum is a must to properly visit and learn about what makes Goseong special!
Here are some facts you may not know about Goseong, a world-class dinosaur hotspot in Gyeongsangnam:
SOME COOL FACTS
Dinosaur discoveries in Goseong and surrounding areas
6,000
Dinosaur Footprints in the Goseong area
420
Dinosaur Walking Trails around Goseong
4
Only dinosaur tracks in the world with perfect skin impressions found in and around Goseong
I also wrote an article about Sangjogam Park, where you can put your own foot into dinosaur footprints in their original, untouched locations! Sangjogam Park also has the Goseong Dinosaur Museum.
The Goseong Dinosaur World Expo is held every 4 years in Goseong. It was originally scheduled to be held most recently in 2020, but has been postponed to October 1st to November 7th, 2021.
There are several areas of the theme park to explore. Aside from the dinosaur theme area, there is also an Yi Sun Shin theme area. Yi Sun Shin is a famous Korean war hero who helped defeat the Japanese, especially in naval affairs. This post will focus on the dinosaur theme area for now.
Dinosaur Fountain and Garden
A fountain with a pair of actual-size t-rexes greets you upon entering, one as a bronze skeleton and the other with flesh.
There is also a dinosaur looming over a globe made of FRP.
We saw the parade which started near the entrance here around the fountain and garden. This involved performers in costumes dancing, flipping, unicycling, etc. It was entertaining, and Noah thought so too.
He also enjoyed exploring the field of flowering plants as daddy chased him around.
In the summer of 2021, the park was lit up on Saturday nights and also during the Expo event. It is pretty cool. The park is open until 10pm during these times, but visitors must enter by 8:00pm if they want to catch the lights.
The area opens up into scattered dinosaurs everywhere, with a boardwalk running through.
Next to each dinosaur is a description and information to help everyone learn about the various kinds.
One of the cool things is getting face to face with a dinosaur to see the what the world would have looked like from their perspective. It also helps you to take in their size.
Some dinosaurs at the Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park even roar and move!
There is an area with smaller dinosaurs for kids to climb on. Our son Noah had fun exploring.
If you’re enjoying the seasonal lights at night, you may find many creative lighting arrangements, including fiber-optics.
With all the music, lights, and kids running around, it was more of a multisensory, party atmosphere than it was spooky. One area had a bunch of petrified wood.
Dinosaur Footprint Fossil Pavilion (5D Theater 2nd Floor)
The 5D Experience theater on the second floor of this building takes viewers with 3D glasses back in time to a world with dinosaurs. The 360 degree 3D film makes you feel like you are in a new world, and the theater even blows air at times, so you feel like you are flying. Noah didn’t know what to think of it as it was getting started.
It is probably my favorite thing among the indoor activities and exhibits.
The first floor of this building has some other cool digital exhibits, including laser technology and holograms. I did not have a chance to really check out this area yet.
These fossil sections are on the first floor in the same building.
Dinosaur Expo Theme Pavilion
The Dinosaur Expo Theme Pavilion is up on a cliff. There are more areas to explore up there, and the view across the water is very nice.
To get here, cross the red bridge.
A see-through elevator takes you up.
The Theme Pavilion at the top consists of an AR zone (augmented reality), 4D safari theater, and other activity areas.
We entered and found these long-necked dinosaurs down the escalator. We tried entering the theater on the second floor but Noah did not want to be there.
On the lower floor was a cool forest scene at sunset. The atmosphere was beautiful, and it is fun the way the dinosaurs react to a person approaching. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to look around here.
If you continue to walk past the Expo Theme Hall, you can catch a great view over the sea and mountains. We caught a beautiful sunset here.
The sea view is actually not out of the ordinary for the Goseong area, but the clear weather and sunset made it especially nice. These photos were taken November 21, 2020, when Noah was 9.5 months old.
The view on the right is around the Yi Sun Shin area and Natural History Museum.
I found a photo zone under some hearts with a nice view on the side of the Expo Hall.
Danghangpo Land & Grassy Playground
Danghangpo Land across from the Expo Theme Hall is like a fair or carnival with small rides, games, and a Ferris wheel. Rides also include bumper boats and a race car.
You can take a fun 114 meter slide to go back down, if you want! It is like a long conveyor that you can roll yourself along. The panted colored sections make you go fast!
We found this grassy playground at the bottom of the slide. The large, red chair makes for an interesting photo zone with the sea and mountains in the background.
Dinosaur Land Botanical Garden
The botanical garden at the Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park is a fun and interesting area in a greenhouse environment.
The lights in some of the photos were part of a seasonal event where the whole park was lit up at night with colorful lights on the weekends. The botanical garden may look different each time you visit!
NASA was even doing some research here.
There are many plants ranging from cactus to fruit, including grapefruit, pineapple, noni, and dragon fruit!
This is a nice way for kids to learn about the ways different fruits and plants grow. Perhaps many of these plants are what they may only read about or see on TV, without going to a different region or special place such as this.
Outside next to the greenhouse is an area of potted plants including the ball-shaped dappsari/댑싸리 which turns from green to red in the fall.
Dinosaur Footprint Protected Area
One of the buildings located near the water is the Dinosaur Fossil Exhibition Hall. A bridge behind the building leads into the Dinosaur Footprint Trail, a boardwalk along the coast.
Here you can find dinosaur footprint fossil trails in a protected bed of sandstone.
In this 65 sq ft area alone, according to the sign, there are 16 tracks of three plant-eating Sauropods, 7 tracks of three plant-eating Ornithopods, and 18 tracks of six meat-eating Theropods. It is believed that these different kinds of dinosaurs lived together.
Goseong Natural History Museum
This protected footprint area is next to the Goseong Natural History Museum.
Continuing in the direction of the wooden deck and stairs leads to the Yi Sun Shin area of the park.
Dinosaur Kids Indoor Play Area
This little indoor play area for kids lets kids move as a dinosaur character on a TV screen. It’s kind of like augmented reality. There are also cool “geomorphology” sand pits that respond to changes in the texture of the sand by projecting water onto the sand in low areas, and mountains, trees, and moving dinosaurs in the higher areas. So you can “create” lakes and mountains.
It’s entertaining to see the technology and the kids enjoying it at the same time.
Real Dinosaur Bones
We found an indoor place with a very cool display of bones and fossils. It feels like you are looking at them as they were when they were discovered in the dirt. The sand pit outside gives kids a taste of what it might be like to uncover dinosaur bones.
Picnic & Camping Along the Water
The area along the coast is nice for a picnic.
A train for kids runs throughout the Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park.
Dinosaur Character Park
The “Dinosaur Character Park” building has a cool underwater scene on the second floor. I am not sure if the lights are black lights or fluorescent, but it is very cool and the paint seems to glow in the dark too.
Cafés
The park has a café, and unlike in America, where the prices of snacks and refreshments at popular parks and tourist attractions is outrageous, the prices at places like these in Korea is reasonable. An Americano costs ₩3,000.
It’s good there is no shortage of places to sit down because of how much walking you may do. The gift shop has lots of toys for kids especially.
Dessert 39 is a nice café only 5 minutes drive away along the sea with trees growing through it! Even closer right across from the Expo parking lot is the new Café Zaha.
Other Areas
There is a main stage near the water where various performances are held, such as a magic show and people in costumes dancing or juggling and putting fire in their mouth.
If you continue on along the water West, you will approach the Yi sun-shin theme area. On one visit, we spotted a large naval battle ship decorated with dinosaur visuals.
Playgrounds
The Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park also has playgrounds of course. The one with the long, blue slides is just up the hilly road from the Natural History Museum.
Different areas of the park occasionally spray mist, which is great on a hot summer day.
Admission
2021 Goseong Dinosaur World Expo Ticket Pricing
| Division | Type | Item | On-site Sales | Advance Reservation | Discount | Coverage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-site Tickets | Single Ticket | Adult | 18,000 | 12,000 | 33.30% | 19-64 years old | |
| Teen | 14,000 | 8,000 | 42.90% | 13-18 years old | |||
| Children | 12,000 | 6,000 | 50% | 3-12 years old | |||
| Group Tickets | Adult | 14,000 | – | – | · 20 or more Koreans · 10 or more foreigners | ||
| Teen | 10,000 | – | – | ||||
| Children | 7,000 | – | – | ||||
| Special Voucher Discount | Adult | 8,000 | – | – | · Seniors age 65+ · Military personnel · Police officials · Disabled | ||
| Teen | 6,000 | – | – | ||||
| Children | 5,000 | – | – | ||||
| Goseong Residents | Adult | 12,000 | – | – | Goseong residents only (based on resident registration) | ||
| Teen | 8,000 | – | – | ||||
| Children | 6,000 | – | – | ||||
| Online Tickets | Normal full-time pass | Adult | 80,000 | – | – | · Free use throughout the event · Produced in the form of a pass (received in advance) · Military discount is limited to Goseong-gun residents (based on resident registration) | |
| Teen | 60,000 | – | – | ||||
| Children | 50,000 | – | – | ||||
| Goseong Resident full-time pass | Adult | 60,000 | – | – | |||
| Teen | 40,000 | – | – | ||||
| Children | 30,000 | – | – | ||||
Expo ticket holders also receive discounts to other attractions in places such as Tongyeong and Geoje.
For more info, you can view their official website: 2021경남고성공룡세계엑스포 (dino-expo.com)
Whether you visit the Goseong Dinosaur Theme Park during the World Expo or not, I am confident you will enjoy yourself and learn a bit!
한국어
Hello.
Planning to make a family trip to the Goseong Dinosaur Museum in a few days.
What would you recommend to be the best way to get there by public transportation?
It's been over a decade since my last visit and went there by car.
I would appreciate any info.
Thank you.
Hello skylar!
I checked with my wife, and there is not really a public transportation to the park. The best way would be to take a bus to Baedun Terminal, which is only 5 mins by taxi to the Expo Theme Park. You can get to Baedun Terminal from Goseong Bus Terminal, or you could taxi directly to the Expo Theme Park directly from Goseong Bus Terminal if you don't want to bother with Baedun.
KakaoMaps does show a bus stop just a few minutes walk away from the park, but it appears to be a small, infrequent local bus that we have not heard of people using to get to the park. I hope that answers your question. ^^