Everland is South Korea's largest theme park. It is located at the Everland Resort in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. In 2018, it received 5.85 million visitors and was ranked 19th in the world for amusement park attendance. As of 2010, Everland is measured to be approximately 1,200,000 square yards. Along with its main attractions, Everland includes a zoo and water park known as Caribbean Bay. Everland is operated by Samsung C&T Corporation (formerly known as Samsung Everland, Cheil Industries), which is a subsidiary of the Samsung Group. It first opened under the name Yongin Farmland, and received its current name in 1996. The park is accessible by public transportation (buses and the EverLine railway), as well as by dedicated shuttle buses that stop by various places in Seoul.

History

Construction on the park first began in 1968. Initially, plans existed to build the park in Anseong, but that city ultimately declined to host it. It eventually opened to the public on April 18, 1976 under the name "Yongin Farmland". At the time of its opening, admission fees were 600 won for adults and 300 won for children. For its first year in operation, it received 880,000 visitors. The park initially had an area of 1500 ha, and was mostly themed around nature. It had around 200 species of animals and an orchard with fruit trees. The park was also agriculturally productive, and shipped products abroad. Visitors were able to go on "safaris" to see exotic animals, such as lions, tigers, and giraffes. The park was the first in East Asia to offer a safari experience with free ranging lions. Until the 1990s, an acrobatics show featuring boars was a popular attraction in the park. The park also had a rose garden with 3,500 roses of 122 species. The park initially offered 9 rides: the "Jet Coaster", a carousel, a sports car ride, boat rides, a chair swing ride, and spinning teacups. Around the 1980s, the number of rides was significantly expanded. Additions included a flume ride (1981), Space Ferris Wheel (1982), Viking (1983), Flying Dragon Train (1986), and Fantasy Express (1988). A facility for sledding now called "Snow Buster" also opened in January 1988; it was the first of its kind in South Korea. In 1989, it opened an exhibition about dinosaurs, and in 1991 it opened an exhibition about mummies. In 1992 it opened the roller coaster Eagle's Fortress. The Amazon Express opened in 1994. They introduced several more safari options, including a tiger safari (1980), a bear safari (1990), and a herbivore safari (2010). In June 1986, they began running a Rose Festival, which one JoongAng Ilbo reporter claims was the first flower festival in South Korea. The park also began a tulip garden, which began hosting its own festivals in April 1992. For its 20th anniversary in 1996, the park changed its name to "Everland". That July, it also opened its water park Caribbean Bay: the first such water park in South Korea. Caribbean Bay reached 1 million visitors 13 months after opening. In 2001, it had 9.1 million visitors, making it the sixth most visited theme park in the world. In 2008, it opened South Korea's first wooden roller coaster, T Express. The ride has since remained popular. For the 45th anniversary of the park in 2021, it opened a Natural Farm Homage Garden as a tribute to the park's beginnings. It also had a number of events and exhibits that evoked the technology of the time, as well as the history of the park. By 2024, the park had around 270 million visitors total throughout its history.

Themed areas

Everland is divided into five zones: Global Fair, Zootopia, European Adventure, Magic Land, and American Adventure.

Global Fair

Global Fair is primarily a place for food, souvenirs, and pictures as visitors enter and exit the park. There are shops and restaurants, also services such as rental stroller and lockers.

Zootopia

Zootopia is an animal-themed zone. There is a petting zoo, pony rides, and animal shows. There is a small zoo with a variety of animals including birds, pandas, polar bears, sea lions, penguins, bears, lions, tigers, and primates. A safari bus ride is also available, allowing watching some of the animals, such as ligers and bears, roaming in a contained habitat. The visitors stay on the bus. Amazon Express is a raft ride, where most visitors get splashed. The petting zoo contains animals such as goats and sheep to pet. Kosik, one of Zoo-Topia's elephants, made it to the headlines when he demonstrated an ability to imitate Korean words. In 2016, giant pandas Aibao and Lebao arrived at Everland. In 2020, Aibao gave birth to her daughter Fubao. Fubao is the first giant panda to be born in South Korea, In 2023, Aibao gave birth to twin daughters Ruibao and Huibao.

European Adventure

European Adventure has restaurants with European architectural styles. There is a flower garden encircled by a train, games and arcades. It includes the Mystery Mansion attraction, in which visitors can shoot at ghosts. In March 2008, a ride named "T Express" was added. It is the first roller-coaster in South Korea to be constructed out of wood.

Magic Land

Magic Land encloses a display of buildings and rides. There is a section called Aesop's Village where the characters and themes are primarily drawn from the fables of Aesop. The Ferris wheel provided views of the whole park until it closed in 2011 to allow for more rides. There is a log flume, a futuristic flying ride, and a robot ride. Along with the rides, there are restaurants and stands.

American Adventure

Themes from American history are presented in this portion of the park. There is one Western themed ride located in this section called 'Rodeo'. In Rock Ville, the theme is the 1950s and its music. The Double Rock Spin is a main attraction where live bands play near the Rolling X-Train, one of the roller coasters in the park.

Attractions

Roller Coasters

T Express

The T Express, which debuted in 2008, is the first wooden roller coaster and the largest in South Korea. The T Express is the 3rd longest wooden coaster in the world at 5838 ft long. The steepest point is the first drop, and the slope here is 77 degrees. Its name is based on T World, a Korean wireless phone company run by SK Telecom which sponsored the ride.

Jigu Maul (Global Village)

The Jigu Maul (which means "Global village") was established in August 1985 as the first dark boat ride in South Korea. It shows worldwide traditions, cultural customs, scenery with dolls and iconic miniatures from more than 18 countries, similar to the "It's a Small World" attraction at Disney Parks. However, due to safety reasons, it was torn down in 2016. Currently, there is a children's playground in the same location, called "Hide Away".

Characteristics of Jigu Maul

Tulip Festival

Everland hosts the Tulip Festival from March to April each year. There are also special performances such as musicals and parades.

Attendance

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