Everland: Halloween & Horror Nights

I sincerely apologize that my blogging lately has been, well, virtually nonexistent. The past two weeks have been so busy that I simply didn't have time. Two weeks ago was midterms week, so that kept me very occupied. All I'll say about midterms is that I don't think I failed any of them, but my GPA may certainly go down this semester. And that's all I'll bore you with about that.

To celebrate conquering our midterms, a group of friends and I went go to visit Everland, a popular amusement park in Seoul. It was good timing, because it was approaching the end of their Halloween & Horror Nights, which is their 'haunted' section of the park to celebrate Halloween.

I was really amazed by how beautiful Everland was! All of the building facades were themed and decorated, much like Disneyland. And there was one hill where you had a beautiful view of all the buildings, with a flower garden and fountain in the middle! So beautiful.

Not only did Everland have rides, food stands, and the other usual park attractions, it also had a miniature zoo and kpop hologram concerts! There was a safari area in the park, where you could walk around and see animals in exhibits such as tigers, polar bears, lions, fennic foxes, and kangaroos! In addition to that, there were two different safari rides you could go on to see lions, bears, hyenas, and giraffes up close and personal! It was actually a bit scary, since you were on a tour bus and there were no fences between you and the animals. Some of them were actually close enough to the bus that, if the windows weren't there, you could reach out and touch them! Overall, a very cool experience.

The kpop hologram concerts were very unique as well! It is exactly what the name implies. You go into a room with a fake stage, and they have concerts that they filmed with popular Korean pop artists and they play a hologram of the concert. It may sound futuristic to foreigners, but it's totally normal here in Korea. The hologram is so realistic, too! I was taken aback by how real the hologram people looked.

Everland was fun, but the reason we really went was for the special Halloween & Horror Nights attractions! One of the first things we did in the park was get zombie makeovers. There was an area where you could pay for a makeup artist to make you look like you had just been through the apocalypse! Packages ranged from approximately $5 to $30, and the size/severity of your fake wounds were determined by how much you paid. I broke the bank for the $30 package, but it was totally worth it! You can find pictures of it on my facebook page.

The other attraction that I was dead-set on seeing for Halloween & Horror Nights was the Haunted Safari. My roommate had gone to Everland earlier in the year, and said it was definitely a must-do while in Seoul. It was the one thing I was looking forward to all day! So, around 6:30 pm when it started to get dark, we all headed over to the ticket booth to buy ourselves a ticket.

BUT THEY WERE COMPLETELY SOLD OUT!! That realization was even scarier than the ride would have been! That ride was the one reason I wanted to go to Everland in the first place! Needless to say, I was completely devastated. Halloween & Horror Nights only lasted until Halloween, so I wouldn't even be able to go back the next weekend, since it would already be over. The obvious solution to this? Skip classes and go back to Everland two days later! (If you think I'm kidding... No. I am 100% serious.)

So, for the second time in three days, I made the 2-hour trip to Everland, bought myself another ticket to the park, and tried not to worry too much about the classes I was skipping. And let me tell you... it was totally worth it. I do not regret my decision one bit. Let me tell you about the Horror Safari!

Imagine this... you're completely alone as you board a safari tour bus, lit only by very dim, red overhead lights. Looking out the window, all you can see is the tree line slightly illuminated by the bus's headlights. An exhausted, terrified tour guide stumbles onto the bus, spouting out Korean words between gasps for air. All you can do is hope he isn't saying anything important, since you can't understand a word he is saying. The bus starts to move, coming up to a metal gate that slowly slides open and you drive through. Welcome to the haunted safari compound.

The tour guide continues to speak in Korean as you drive through the safari filled with sights that bring chills: bloody smears, warning signs, and a tour bus identical to yours, except that it's been attacked and bloodied bodies lay around it. Not much later, you hear a scream from the front of the bus. As you crane your neck to see over everyone else, you hear a THUMP right next to you. Turning, you see a bloody-faced zombie outside your window, pounding the window with it's fist, staring at you with blank eyes. The tour guide starts screaming at you in Korean, and the bus driver speeds up.

However, there's a problem. A zombie is standing in the middle of the road! Before you can tell him to stop, the tour guide opens the doors to the bus to get out and fight to get the zombie out of the way. While he's taking care of the zombie in the road, another zombie stumbles onto the bus through the open door and stumbles down the aisle. Everyone is screaming and nobody has any idea what to do other than scream even more loudly. Just before the zombie can attack, the tour guide makes it back to the bus and pushes the zombie back out the door.

For a while, the ride goes without major disruption (other than the zombies constantly surrounding the bus and beating on the windows). But then you round the next corner and see it: there are more zombies in the road. Way more than there were before! Everyone panics as the tour guide starts screaming instructions in Korean and suddenly everyone stands up. Why are they standing?! The tour guide opens the doors and all the Koreans make a mad dash for the door. No way! You have no choice but to follow, running out of the bus and dodging zombies (in case you are wondering, there are no rules about them not being able to touch you in Korea. Some people were literally getting grabbed by zombies.). You don't even know where the exit is, you're just hoping the Koreans know.

Finally, you make it to the safety of the exit gate. There are severed heads hanging from the ceiling, but they're nothing compared to the terror of the zombies. Finally, the tour guide catches up with the group and goes to unlock the gate. As he's unlocking it, you hear a click. Suddenly, all the severed heads are dropping toward the ground! I've never heard screams so loud in my life. Luckily, that's the last of the scares, and everyone escapes to the safety of the amusement park.

Overall, it was pretty darn terrifying! The ticket cost an extra $5 since it's a special attraction, but it was totally worth it!