Under the Sea @ Lotte World Aquarium (롯데월드 아쿠아리움)

It was on a mere whim that the boyfriend and I found ourselves wandering into the Lotte World Aquarium. I think w’ just re-watched Finding Dory and suddenly felt a strong urge to check out some marine life. Either way, there we were, cameras in hand ready to take some serious National Geographic level photos.

The only other aquarium we had been to was the one inside COEX located in Gangnam. This aquarium was surprisingly much larger and more impressive. They have over 650 different species of marine animals that are divided into various zones. Needless to say it took a while to look at everything.

The aquarium itself is quite spacious, so we really enjoyed moving at our own pace and taking in all the beautiful and unique fish around us. I found my self drawn to the various types of stingray they had, as well as this adorable little bucktoothed baby pufferfish. At least I think it was a pufferfish. I’m no marine biologist, but it was puffy, fish-like, and undeniably cute.

Aside from the wide array of sea life, what was most noticeable was how clean everything was, from the water to the glass and public spaces. Despite the numerous children pressing their tiny faces to the glass, it seems like their staff was really on top of things. It was really nice to see that all the animals were really well cared for, though we did feel that the beluga whale tank was a bit too small (we could be wrong).

All in all, it was a really nice impromptu visit. Definitely a cute date idea, if you happen to be in the area. We did find ourselves to be a bit dizzy by the end, since our eyes were constantly adjusting between our camera lenses and the thick aquarium glass. I think next time we’ll leave the cameras at home and just enjoy our time “under the sea.”

• Hours
  • 10:00am~8:00pm, Monday~Thursday
  • 10:00am~10:00pm, Friday~Sunday
• Admission
  • Adults: 29,000
  • Teenagers: 27,000
  • Children: 25,000
    • Be sure to look out for seasonal promotions and foreigner discounts
• Address
  • 서울특별시 송파구 신천동 29 (롯데월드몰 B1)
  • 29 Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul (Lotte World Mall B1)
• Phone
  • 02-3213-3200
• Website
  • http://www.lotteworld.com/aquarium/en/index.asp