Everland

Everland
Previously known as Yongin Farmland
Location Everland Resort, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Coordinates 37°17′38″N 127°12′10″E
Opened 1976
Owner Samsung C&T Resort & Construction Group
Operating season year-round
Attendance 5.85 million
Area 250
Attractions
Roller coasters 5
Website http://www.everland.co.kr/
Everland
Hangul
에버랜드
Revised Romanization Ebeoraendeu
McCune–Reischauer Ebǒraendǔ

Everland (Korean에버랜드; RREbeoraendeu) is South Korea's largest theme park. Located at the Everland Resort in Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do, it receives 5.85 million visitors annually and was ranked 19th in the world for amusement park attendance in 2018. 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.

The park was formerly called "Jayeon Nongwon" which approximately translates to "natural farm." Its former English name was "Yongin Farmland."

History

  • 1972: Planning of Yongin Forest Complex
  • 1974: Yongin Forest Complex was named Yongin Natural Farm
  • 1976: Opened under the name of Yongin Natural Farm (the largest theme park in Korea ever since).
  • 1985: Rose Festival Open
  • 1986: The tenth anniversary of its opening
  • 1993: Accumulated entry of 40 million people
  • 1996: In March, the existing name "Natural Farm", was renamed "Everland"
  • 1996: Joongang Development Company acquired Everland to begin renovations
  • 1996: Caribbean Bay Open in July
  • 2006: Everland Resort BI Change
  • 2006: The 30th anniversary of its opening
  • 2016: 40th anniversary, 20th anniversary of the opening of Caribbean Bay.

Themed areas

Everland is divided into five zones: Global Fair, Zoo-Topia, 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 1st giant panda born in Korea, she is the luckiest panda in the world as she receives lots of love from her nannies, parents and fans. 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 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

Ride Year Opened Manufacturer Description
T Express 2008 Intamin AG South Korea's longest and second-fastest coaster, and the country's first wooden coaster. It is the steepest wooden coaster in Asia.
Eagle Fortress (now defunct) 1992 Arrow Dynamics South Korea's first suspended coaster. Limited to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) by a trim brake on the drop when opening, but later reached 52 miles per hour (84 km/h) when the trim brake was eliminated.
Rolling-X Train 1988 Arrow Dynamics (Trains built by Vekoma) Built to celebrate the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Two loops and two corkscrews.

It was formerly named Fantasy Express.

Retsaoc Gnicar (Previously: Herky & Timmy's Racing Coaster) 2020 (Built in 2005) Vekoma A Family backdrop roller coaster placed in Aesop's village.
Blue Dragon Coaster 1987 Zamperla A two circuit powered roller coaster.

T Express

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 5,838 feet (1,779 m) 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

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Worldwide rank
6,600,000 6,169,000 6,884,000 6,570,000 N/A 7,303,000 7,381,000 7,423,000 7,200,000 6,310,000 5,850,000 19

Gallery

See also