Seoul Animation Center and Ani Town Will Leave You Smiling in Seoul
Have you heard of Ani Land? The Seoul Animation Center? Ani Town? It’s okay if you haven’t. Located across the street from the popular shopping district, Myeongdong, in Seoul, it’s a bit off the beaten path unless you’re on the hunt for animation art. In Ani Town, there lies a street dubbed Zaemiro made up of studios, restaurants, and cartoon-covered walls. It’s known as the “content-specialized street” of Ani Town, a place full of unique exhibitions and views.
From Seoul Animation Center, ideal if you have kids, to Zaemiro, there’s something fun for everyone. Until December, there is also a special event going on to visit, get stamps, and get gifts for visiting and helping to revitalize the area. Check it out!
Plan a trip to Ani Town. Here’s what you should see:
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Seoul Animation Center (서울애니메이션센터)
The Seoul Animation Center is a striking building with an awesome mural on the exterior depicting a happy sun hugging N Seoul Tower. It just makes you want to stop and smile. Established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 1999 to support South Korean comics and the animation industry, later expanded to include game characters as well, the area around it features statues and fun street art to pay homage to the cute Korean characters children know and love. Inside you’ll find…
Comics Cafe
Inside, on the first floor, you can find the “Comics Café”. It’s called a café, but I didn’t see any drinks which makes sense because there are a lot of books and comics from the 90s up to today. It is a free library of comics to enjoy with various seating options like bean bag chairs, chairs and tables, and benches. Grab a comic, there are options for children up to adults, and then find a seat.
There are over 30,000 comics from Korea and abroad and they include recent releases and nostalgic favorites. Note that these comics are mainly, if not all, in Korean. There are also some DVDs and little areas to hang out and enjoy them. If you’ve got kids too old for Ani Land, you might have them hang out down here while you’re upstairs with your little ones.
- Address: 48 Sogong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul (서울시 중구 소공로 48)
- Days: Closed Mondays
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 8:00pm
- Admission: Free
Ani Land
Up on the second floor of the animation center is Ani Land which is ideal for families with young children. Inside are popular characters like Pororo, Super Wings, Turning Mecard, Slow Slow Sloth Neul. This is ideal for children that are from the ages of 3 to 5 in my opinion. There are a few experiences that older siblings can do as well, but it really caters to the younger family members that would just scream at the sight of a Pororo figure.
This isn’t a huge space, but has all of the characters in large figurines to see. There are Tayo trains to ride on and some VR experiences as well as hands stop motion experiences and a small sort of playground area inside. While the younger members of our group were riding on Tayo, the older, 7 year olds, were doing the VR and model making experiences. There was enough for the older kids to do while the younger ones were playing but I wouldn’t take kids over 7 and probably not if they didn’t have younger people in our group.
- Address: 48 Sogong-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul (서울시 중구 소공로 48)
- Days: Closed Mondays
- Hours: 10:00am ~ 6:00pm
- Admission: Children: W6,000; adults: W4,000
Ani Town
#DCC
This shop is a café as well as a merchandise store of Korean Webtoons. The prices for food aren’t bad and what you will find downstairs will bring tears of joy to any robot or Mecha (giant piloted robot) fan. It’s a great place to relax and purchase merchandise if you have read any of the webtoons that they sell.
There are posters, cardboard cutouts, and even signed art from them as well. Then on the bottom floor, you have a display full of giant robots, mechs, and even transformers to gaze at in awe. Above the store is an actual studio for webtoon artists as well. If you need a place to grab a quick bite or stay away from the smoldering heat or rain in the summers, it’s a wonderful place to check out.
- Address: 42 Toegyero20-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (B1-1st Fl.) (서울시 중구 퇴계로20길 42 (지하1-1층)
- Days: Monday – Sunday
- Hours: 10:00pm ~ 6:00pm
Kim Chung-gi Museum (김청기미술관)
On the 4th and 5th floors of the building is an area dedicated to Kim Chung-gi, producer of Robot Taekwon V. There’s a café to hang out there, merchandise and toys for purchases, as well as a room with robot figures, sketches, and other creations by Kim Chung-gi which are a very neat sight.
There’s a gorgeous view on the 5th floor as well as a café where you can sit inside or outside and enjoy the experience. There are a plethora of figures and toys for robot fans to purchase as well as the museum that I mentioned earlier. It’s a paradise for robot and mecha fans, but also an ideal location to take a break and chill.
- Address: 24 Toegyero 20-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (4th-5th Fl.)
- (서울시 중구 퇴계로20길 24 (4층-5층)
- Directions: There’s a large robot in front of the area as well. Just head through the parking lot by staying on the left and walking up the stairs, or the elevator.
- Days: Closed Mondays
- Hours: Tuesday – Sunday: 10:00am ~ 9:00pm
Art Ventures (아트벤처)
This location has a ton of art, figures, and models. If you are a fan of Tintin or something from pop culture, you will be delighted to see what they offer. There are a lot of figures there from pop culture movies as well as art pieces to peruse. The staff is very attentive and will always be there to assist you. Just make sure you have a translating app if you want to ask them questions.
- Address: 4th floor, Flask Bldg., 13 Toegyero20-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (4층 서울 중구 퇴계로20길 13 플라스크빌딩)
- Directions: On the right side of the path, you will come upon a dark building where a sign for what places are inside is posted out front. Head up to the fourth floor.
- Days: Monday – Friday
- Hours: 1:30pm ~ 6:00pm
The Re-draw Project
There is a special content exhibition called “Re-draw the city” on currently that is making this area really cool to hang out in. Under the Myeong-dong Zaemiro Re-draw project, famous artists like Grafflex as well as a domestic exhibition company named Print Bakery participated in remaking the Zaemiro street. There are new murals of art plastered on both sides of the street, as well as comic café exhibitions, and illustration contents. If you love finding street art and murals as much as we do, then you’ll love the new artistic additions to the neighborhood.
The Seoul Industry Promotion Agency was the one that created the road from Myeong-dong station to the Seoul Animation Center. They changed it into a cartoon street that seeks to popularize art by Grafflex with the help of Print Bakery. The goal is to revive the content industry by hosting various events and allowing people to see the value of art every day.
Pro Tip: Visit the Zaemiro Space first and then go cafe hopping and shop visiting in the area. The event allows you to get stamps from the different spaces and after collecting you can go back to Zaemiro Space to collect your prizes for supporting the area. Just one stamp gets you a fun photo-booth experience for free. You can get up to 5 stamps. There are some great local restaurants on the street and you can even get stamps by just stopping in and buying something at the local convenience stores if you don’t have time to stop and eat a meal.
- Address: Myeong-dong Jamam-ro (15-27 Namsan-dong 2-ga)(명동 자암로 (남산동2가 15-27)
Walk Around The Area
The district of Ani Town had already been adorned with various homages via street art and murals to animations so keep your eyes peeled for the works from today but also the works from years past. After walking around here, you could also head just up the road to Pil-dong, another district in the area that was overhauled with arts and culture to revitalize the area.
The Myeongdong shopping district gets a lot of attention by visitors, but the surrounding areas can fall under the radar easily. Don’t miss some of these eye catching areas.
Bird The Cafe
If you’ve wandered to and fro and are in need of something to cool off, definitely go find Bird The Cafe right in the area. They have some really delicious bingsu, or Korean ice desserts. They have the more traditional red bean bingsu, patbingsu, as well as a lovely mango bingsu. They are sure to hit the spot in the heat. They also have ades, coffees, and more. A great little spot for a rest.
- Address: 46 Toegye-ro 18-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (서울 중구 퇴계로18길 46)
- Hours: Tuesday – Sunday: 10:00am ~ 9:00pm
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