Hotel Review: Jeju Shinhwa World, Jeju-do, South Korea
For the past six months, Millie has been telling us she wanted a trip for her birthday. Brandon had a four-day break at the start of spring break this year, and London was going to Girl Scout camp in Jeju at the same time, so we decided to turn it into Millie’s birthday trip. To celebrate her birthday weekend, we chose to stay at Jeju Shinhwa World Resort.
There were so many reasons why we chose this hotel, but the two main factors that sealed the deal for us were the affordable family connecting rooms and the fact that the resort has its own theme park and water park right on the property. We thought it would be the perfect spot for a memorable 5th birthday getaway!
JEJU SHINHWA WORLD
Jeju Shinhwa World resort map
Jeju Shinhwa World is a large leisure and entertainment resort offering a variety of attractions that includes a theme park, a water park, a shopping center, tons of dining options, convenience stores, coffee shops, convention rooms AND - for my husband - a casino.
ACCOMODATIONS
Jeju Shinhwa World offers a variety of accommodation options, including Marriott, Somerset, Shinhwa, and Landing Resorts. We decided to stay at the Landing Resort, primarily because it was the most affordable option for the room configuration we needed. When traveling with our kids, we prefer having two rooms or separate sleeping spaces—it helps them sleep better. The Family Connecting Room was ideal for us, with one room featuring a spacious king-size bed and another with two twin beds. Plus, it gave us two bathrooms as well! If you don’t want separate rooms but need more beds, they also have a Deluxe Family Twin room that has a queen bed and a twin bed in one room.
Since we opted for the basic package, our hotel stay didn’t include breakfast or dinner, but it did come with the Shinhwa Theme Park Big3 pass for everyone staying in the room. The great thing about booking through their website is that there are so many package options available to suit different needs. You can choose packages that include breakfast, breakfast and dinner, theme park and water park passes, or even 30% off lunch options. There’s plenty of flexibility to tailor your stay, especially if you don’t plan on leaving the resort. Our basic room package total for 2 rooms, 2 nights was 495,000₩. (Under $200/night for two rooms in Jeju is a great deal!)
While we didn’t need these extras, I did walk past the buffet during dinner time, and it looked quite large. It was packed everyday at dinner and there was a line forming before they opened for breakfast. I almost wished we’d added it to our package, but with our kids being so picky, buffets rarely feel worth the cost for us. If you’ve ever eaten the meals at the Landing Resort, let me know your thoughts in the comments!
The Shinhwa Resort and the Marriott Resort each have their own swimming pools for guest use as well. The Shinhwa Resort pool is a year round heated outdoor pool that overlooks the Water Park which is pretty cool! Most pools around Korea don’t open until June or July, even in Jeju, so this a big plus for the Shinhwa Resort! The Marriott Resort has a year round indoor pool, as well as an outdoor pool that is open late April through October. The Landing did not have its own pool, however, we knew what our plans were for each of the days we’d be there, so that wasn’t a loss for us.
FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Larva’s Adventure Village at Jeju Shinhwa Theme Park
One common issue we face at theme parks is the height requirement for rides. My kids are 100cm and 130cm, so my youngest misses out on a lot of attractions. Another challenge here in Korea is that theme parks often don’t operate all their rides throughout the day, especially on weekdays. If you’ve been to a Korean theme park on a non-holiday weekday, you get it. It’s frustrating. We've been to places like LegoLand, Everland, E-World, and Lotte World, and we always leave feeling a bit underwhelmed by the experience and/or the cost versus the experience.
SHINHWA THEME PARK
We went into the theme park with low expectations. We’d looked at pictures, we’d look at the height requirements - we knew what we were getting into and I have to tell you - WE WERE WRONG. Our entire family had the best time at Shinhwa Theme Park!
Shinhwa Theme Park map
Our hotel stay included the Shinhwa Theme Park Big3 pass, which we received at check-in. These passes are QR-coded receipts for each guest, which you simply show at the theme park entrance. The Big3 pass allows you to enjoy any three rides of your choice, with each ride marked with a hole punch on your ticket. If you'd like to upgrade for unlimited rides, it costs 13,000₩ per person. For our family of four, the total upgrade cost was 52,000₩ ($35 USD), and in my opinion, it was totally worth it!
For reference, you can also purchase the Big3 Pass at the theme park for 18,000₩. The unlimited pass is 39,000₩ and a single ride pass is 7,000₩. The prices change slightly depending on the time of year and they also offer multiple discount options for card holders, members and military. You can find all the pricing here!
Mom and Millie!
The theme park operates from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, and we arrived around 2:00 PM on a Monday. To our surprise, there were hardly any crowds! Even though we had checked the height requirements online beforehand, the theme park map was incredibly useful in showing us which rides the kids could enjoy. There were also several large signs around the park displaying the height requirements.
Shinhwa Theme park boarding guide with height requirements.
As shown in the boarding guide picture above, not only is the height requirement indicated but it also specifies whether children of certain heights can ride alongside an adult. Throughout the park, there was only one ride that London couldn’t enjoy, and just two that Millie was unable to ride. (Oscar’s V World was closed during our visit and seemed to have been shut down for a while.) Kids of 100cm can ride almost all rides with a parent and that is such a great, unexpected win!
Hands down, everyone’s favorite ride of the day was the Dancing Oscar. I think we rode it 4 or 5 times throughout the day. Apparently this is Jeju’s ONLY rollercoaster! Your car spins as you ride the tracks and it was so much fun! I’ll be the first to admit that several factors go into making a theme park day a truly fabulous day, and maybe we got lucky. I could have counted the amount of people in the theme park ALL DAY. We never waited more than one round for a ride and most often, we walked up and right onto the ride. “Is this what it’s like to be rich and famous and rent out theme parks for the day?” I asked my husband an hour into the park. I don’t want to say this was our best theme park experience in South Korea but…..
Also, it was a great place to see the cherry blossoms this spring. There were a lot of cherry blossom trees in the park and not a lot of people, so you wouldn’t have to fight crowds to get good shots.
SHINHWA WATER PARK
Hanging out in the lazy river at Shinhwa Water Park
Going into our weekend stay at Shinhwa World, I honestly thought the water park would be the highlight, but I can admit it wasn’t. We had such an amazing time at the Theme Park that the water park just couldn’t compare. Water park tickets weren’t included with our hotel stay, so we had to pay separately. If you're a military family, be sure to ask for the discount! For two adults and two kids, with the military discount, the cost was 96,000₩ ($65), which isn’t a bad price. The military discount dropped the cost nearly in half - you can check all the seasonal pricing here!
Just keep in mind that water park admission prices vary depending on the season, which makes sense since the outdoor park is open during the summer. Like the theme park, the water park is open everyday from 11:00-19:00.
The indoor water park includes: two tube rides (operating at alternating times), a lazy river, a relaxing spa area with jets, two mini pools, and a bubble pop zone. Every 10 minutes, the whistle for the bubble pop zone would blow, signaling a new round of play for different age groups. Kids between 90-110cm would play together, followed by a group for kids 110-130cm. I really appreciated this system because it helped prevent bigger kids from accidentally hurting the smaller ones.
In my opinion, the indoor water park isn't very big, and I can't say I’d pay for it again. On top of the entrance fee, we had to "rent" a life jacket for Millie (required for guests under 120cm in the lazy river) for 9,000₩. If you didn’t want to leave your belongings on the floor, you had to rent a spot. We chose a pool lounger, which is called a sunbed here, for 35,000₩. The "couple sunbed" option was 90,000₩. At least the inflatable tubes for the lazy river were included with the admission. Also, towels weren’t provided, so you either had to bring your own or purchase one from the gift shop as you enter.
Aqua shoes and/or flip-flops are recommended, but not mandatory. If you live in Korea, you’ll know that water shoes are typically required, and you can easily pick them up at Daiso for around 5,000₩. Swimming caps aren’t required either, but they do ask that long hair be tied back for hygiene reasons. Inside the water park, there’s a shop for snacks and bathrooms for convenience.
If we returned in the summer, I’d probably opt for a room package that includes water park tickets so we could enjoy the outdoor section. However, I’d hesitate to purchase tickets for just the indoor area again. That said, my kids had an absolute blast, and I’m sure they’ll be talking about it for a while!
And while the water park wasn’t as big of a hit for our family as the theme park was, I can see how it would be a better option for families with much smaller kids. If your kid isn’t able to ride a lot of the theme park rides, or doesn’t like to, the indoor water park is definitely a spot where they can enjoy themselves.
Me and my girls
CASINO
I did not go to the casino and my husband said it was mostly empty. Gambling facilities in South Korea are open to foreigners only. The gambling sector is not developed in the country, yet it is a tourist attraction tool of the government, so it makes sense that the casino would be pretty empty. The resort was offering a promotion for new members - sign up for their free membership and receive 60,000₩ in gambling credits. These were given in the form of 6 - 10,000₩ receipts to be gambled with. My husband enjoyed his time here and came away with winnings.
In addition to everything mentioned above, Jeju Shinhwa World offers plenty of other amenities, including a spa, a skin clinic, multiple playgrounds, a kids’ club, a fitness center, and even a karaoke room.
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS
Jeju Shinhwa World is just a 45-minute drive from Jeju International Airport. While Jeju is accessible by bus, I highly recommend renting a vehicle to get around the island. The traffic is much less hectic than in the big cities of Korea, the roads are better and parking was convenient at nearly every place we visited.
Within 15 minutes of the resort, you’ll find attractions like Hello Kitty Island, O’Sulloc Tea Museum, Innisfree Jeju House, and the Figure Museum—though there’s so much more to explore! You could drive in any direction down the highway and find signs for various museums, cafes, and “theme” parks.
The popular Aewol-eup area is about a 40-minute drive away, and the main attractions in Seogwipo are around 30 minutes by car. If you’re heading to the east coast of Jeju or Udo Island, expect a drive of 1.5 hours or more.
WOULD I STAY HERE AGAIN?
London and Millie running into Larva’s Adventure Village at Jeju Shinhwa Theme Park
I know we missed a lot of the features at Shinhwa World, but overall, this resort far exceeded our expectations for a place in South Korea. From comfortable rooms to entertainment and dining options for the whole family, it kept us busy during our stay. If we were staying longer than a weekend, we’d likely opt for the Shinhwa Resort or the Marriott to have access to their pool without extra charges. That said, the Landing had everything our family needed for a fantastic weekend getaway at what I thought was a great price.
Tell me in the comments - what is your favorite family friendly resort in South Korea?
