Busan With Kids: What Every Attraction Actually Costs

What a family actually spends in Busan, venue by venue. Part of our Busan travel guide.

1. Start with what the children cost

In Busan, children under 13 ride the subway free. Tap a transit card and it charges nothing up to the end of elementary school. Add the venue tickets to that and you have your daily budget.

Most family guides say a city is “great with kids” and never give a number. Here is what each place charges an adult, what it charges a child, and the age at which the child stops paying.

The last section prices out a full two days for two adults and two elementary-school children.

2. Under 13 rides free

Busan Metro charges nothing for anyone under 13 who taps a transit card. This is the single biggest factor in a family budget here, and visitors rarely expect it.

There is one catch worth stating plainly. The free travel applies to transit cards only. Buy a paper ticket and an elementary-school child pays. Get each child a card of their own at any convenience store; leftover balance is not a meaningful loss.

The under-6 allowance is three children per adult, so two adults cover six. In practice there is no limit on toddlers.

If you have seen a guide saying only under-36-months travel free, that is not the current rule. It runs to the end of elementary school.

Lines, transfers and where to buy cards are in our Busan subway and transit card guide.

3. Every child price on one page

Paid attractions worth taking children to, in price order. The age at which a child gets in free is different at every one of them. Some cut off at 36 months, others at six years.

Two things stand out. The science museum is 3,000 won and Lotte World is 49,000. That is sixteen times the price, and it is not sixteen times the day.

And the luge charges children the adult rate once they are tall enough to ride alone. The height rules are set out below.

4. SEA LIFE Busan Aquarium

SEA LIFE Busan Aquarium📍Map sits underground at the edge of Haeundae beach. You can walk off the sand straight into it, which is why so many families use it to get through a hot afternoon.

What it costs

Booked online in advance it runs around 21,500 won; a same-day ticket costs a little more. The official site advertises up to 30% off for advance booking, so the gap against the walk-up price is real. A “Happy Time” ticket for particular time slots is sometimes cheaper still.

Under 36 months is free.

There are combination tickets: 34,900 won with the ARTE MUSEUM on Yeongdo, or 34,300 won with the Songdo cable car. Both beat buying separately.

What children actually stop for

The 270-degree underwater tunnel is the centrepiece, with sharks and rays passing overhead. After that it is the rock pool, a shallow tank where children can touch starfish and hermit crabs. Small children stay there longest.

Three shows run daily: a mermaid performance, penguin feeding and shark feeding. Time your entry to a show and the same ticket buys more.

How long it takes

Allow 90 minutes to two hours at a child’s pace, more if you catch a show. It is underground and laid out as a continuous route, so a stroller is not a problem.

Being attached to the beach matters more than it sounds. Play on the sand in the morning, come in to escape the heat of the afternoon, go back out later and in summer that sequence matches what children can actually manage.

5. Lotte World Busan sells a 13,000 won children’s ticket

Before you buy a 35,000 won child ticket, check whether your child needs one. A child who only rides the toddler attractions pays 13,000 won.

Ticket types

The rule of thumb: too small for the big rides means 13,000 won, big enough for them means 35,000. Miss the distinction and you overpay 22,000 won per child.

What is actually in the park

It opened in March 2022 with 17 rides and attractions and has been adding since. From a child’s point of view it breaks into three groups.

There are six grown-up rides and the rest is a children’s park. That is precisely why the 13,000 won baby pass works: a small child spends the day in the part the cheap ticket already covers.

You probably do not need Magic Pass

Magic Pass Premium is 15,000 won for two rides and 27,000 for four, capped at 400 and 90 a day with another 100 and 20 released for afternoon entry.

But this park is far quieter than Lotte World in Seoul. On a weekday many attractions have almost no queue and you can ride the Giant series back to back. Unless you are there on a peak-season weekend, the pass is hard to justify — for four people it is over 60,000 won.

Two things to check before you go

First, closing time is not fixed. The baseline is 21:00 but it is pulled back to 19:00 or 20:00 depending on the month and the date, and the park closes early more often than you would expect depending on weather and numbers. If your plan depends on the evening, check the hours for that day.

Second, rides close in winter wind. The park is entirely outdoors, so strong wind takes attractions out of service. Check the operating notices or your child may find the one ride they wanted is stopped.

Getting there

It is inside the Osiria complex in Gijang, a walk from Osiria station on the Donghae line. That is five minutes from Sinhaeundae station and under ten from Gijang or Ilgwang. By car it is about ten minutes from the Haeundae new town.

Nominal hours are 10:00-20:00 on weekdays and 10:00-21:00 at weekends.

6. A day in Osiria: science museum and luge

Lotte World, the Busan National Science Museum and Skyline Luge are all inside Osiria. They are not within walking distance of each other, but they are close enough to fill one day.

Busan National Science Museum

There are three halls and each is ticketed separately, so you only buy the one that matches your child’s age.

It is the cheapest paid attraction for families in Busan. Two adults and two children in the permanent hall come to 10,000 won, a fifth of one adult ticket at Lotte World.

The hours need attention.

Ticket sales stop at 16:30. Come over late from Lotte World and you will not get in. Put the museum first.

And it closes on Mondays — or Tuesday, when the Monday is a holiday. Families visiting over a long weekend get caught by this.

Ordering the day

Two hours at the museum from opening at 09:30, lunch, then Lotte World on an After3 ticket. The afternoon ticket is 11,000 won cheaper and few children last a full day in a theme park anyway.

7. Measure your child before the luge

Whether a child can ride the luge comes down to height, not age. Families arrive without knowing this and one child ends up watching. The official rules:

Two qualifications. First, staff can refuse a solo ride even above 110cm based on what they see on the day. Height alone is not a guarantee. Second, a child riding alone pays the adult price. There is no child discount.

Tickets run around 39,000 won through booking sites, making this the second most expensive family attraction in Busan after Lotte World.

8. Sky Capsule and beach train stop at different times

Blue Line Park runs two things. The colourful Sky Capsule above and the beach train below. Children want the capsule, and the capsule shuts first.

The beach train runs about an hour later. Miss the last capsule and you can still get back. The reverse also holds: an evening capsule ride needs checking against the season, because in winter it finishes at 18:00.

Capsule capacity is fixed, so peak weekends mean queues. With a small child the wait can outlast the ride.

9. Songdo cable car: the glass floor costs 5,000 won more

Same cable car, two cabin types, two prices.

Adult means middle school and up; child covers 36 months to the end of elementary school. Under 36 months does not need a ticket at all.

The gap is 5,000 won per adult, so roughly 18,000 won for a family of four. If your child is uneasy about heights, the glass floor is money spent against you — some children will not sit down once they can see straight through. The view out of the window is identical in both.

A combined ticket with the aquarium comes to 34,300 won, which beats buying the two separately.

10. Taejongdae Danubi Train

4,000 won for adults and 2,000 won for children. The cheapest ride in Busan that children genuinely enjoy.

Taejongdae is a clifftop circuit and walking it takes a while. The Danubi train loops the route and stops at the main viewpoints, so small legs do not have to cover the whole thing. Get off, look, catch the next one.

A one-way adult fare is 2,000 won. Some families ride down and walk back up.

It is on Yeongdo, which pairs naturally with the National Maritime Museum — that one is free. More in our Yeongdo guide.

11. Water: parks and beaches

In summer the choice is simple. Pay for a water park, or go to a beach for nothing.

Water parks

Prices move with the season, close to doubling between low and peak. Those ranges are indicative; check the exact figure for your dates when you book.

Club D Oasis is in Haeundae and slots into a wider day easily. Gimhae Lotte Water Park is larger but means leaving the city.

Beaches

These cost nothing. With children, shallow water matters more than size. Dadaepo has a wide, very shallow tidal flat that suits toddlers, and Songjeong is quieter than Haeundae. Haeundae itself is broad and well served but crowded in summer.

Opening season and water safety are covered in our guide to Busan’s beaches.

12. The four beaches are not interchangeable

All of Busan’s beaches are free, but they behave quite differently with children. Size matters less than how shallow the water is and how close the toilets and showers are.

For small children who want to be in the water for hours, Dadaepo. For a full day where you also need lunch and somewhere indoors to retreat to, Haeundae. Dadaepo has the sunset fountain on summer evenings, so the day carries straight on from the water.

Opening season and safety, including rip currents and jellyfish, are set out in our guide to Busan’s beaches rather than repeated here.

13. A day that costs almost nothing

You can fill a day without paying a single admission. With children travelling free on the subway, the transport is two adult fares.

Add the science museum at 3,000 won and two adults have an indoor day for 6,000 won, with children under seven free.

More free options, grouped by area, are in our guide to things to do in Busan.

14. If it rains

There is enough indoors that a wet day is not a lost day. What decides the day is pairing places that sit close together. Some of the children’s rooms run on timed sessions you book ahead. All 41 museums in Busan sets out the conditions at four of them.

ARTE MUSEUM Busan on Yeongdo is a media art space that opened in 2024. Children born 2014-2019 pay 12,000 won on weekdays, those born 2020-2022 pay 10,000 won, and children born from 2023 enter free, two per paying adult. Allow about 90 minutes; it is busiest between 13:00 and 17:00.

Do not hold Lotte World as your wet-weather plan. Unlike the Seoul park it has no basement level and very few indoor attractions, so rain leaves most of it either shut or standing wet. If the weather turns while you are in Osiria, move the day to the science museum.

The full indoor list is in Busan when it rains.

15. What works at which age

The same venue is worth very different amounts depending on how old the child is.

Under 36 months

This is the free window. The aquarium and the cable car cost nothing. Lotte World, on the other hand, has almost nothing they can ride. Build the day around things you look at rather than queue for: the rock pool, a beach, a cable car.

Ages 4 to 7

The age the 13,000 won baby pass was designed for. The science museum’s toddler hall also targets this group. For the luge, the question is whether they clear 110cm.

Elementary school

Travel is free. They can ride the big attractions at Lotte World, so the 35,000 won child ticket starts earning its keep. Above 110cm they take the luge alone, and the science museum’s hands-on exhibits land best at this age.

Teenagers

Fares begin. Cable car and aquarium are adult-priced. In exchange they can do what the adults do, which makes planning simpler: a surf lesson at Songjeong, an observation deck, an evening out at Gwangalli.

16. Strollers, feeding rooms and food

Strollers

Most subway stations have lifts, so you can move around without stairs. Hills are the problem. Gamcheon Culture Village and similar neighbourhoods are steep enough that a carrier beats a stroller, and city buses are tight with one unfolded.

Feeding rooms

Department stores and large attractions have them. Which floor and which corner varies by building, so it is worth checking on arrival. Convenience stores cover nappies, wipes and hot water almost everywhere.

Taxis

Kakao T works well, but car seats are not standard. Assume a regular taxi will not have one and plan around it if you are travelling with an infant.

Eating

Feeding children here is straightforward. Gimbap, breaded pork cutlet and non-spicy noodles are everywhere. Among Busan’s own dishes, milmyeon is not spicy, and dwaeji gukbap works if you ask for the seasoning paste on the side. Market snacks like seed hotteok and fish cake skewers go down easily.

Most restaurants will make a dish milder and will bring extra rice. High chairs are common in chains and family restaurants.

17. Where to stay

Haeundae is the simplest answer with children. The beach and the aquarium are next to each other and the family-sized rooms are concentrated there. It is also the most expensive.

When choosing a room, check whether there is a sofa bed and whether cots are available before booking. Plenty of hotels supply them on request without listing it.

Area by area comparison is in our Busan accommodation guide.

18. Check these before you go

The things that ruin a family day here are predictable, and none of them are about price. All in one place:

One more. Get the children transit cards before you start. The under-13 exemption only applies to card taps, and without one they buy a ticket and pay.

19. Two days, costed for a family of four

Two adults and two elementary-school children, with real numbers. Because the children travel free, transport is two adult fares.

Day 1, Haeundae

Aquarium in the morning, the beach after lunch, Sky Capsule or the beach train towards Cheongsapo in the early evening.

Day 2, Osiria

Two hours at the science museum from opening, lunch, then Lotte World on After3.

Lotte World is most of the budget. Buying online rather than at the gate takes a large bite out of it, and if your children are small enough for the baby pass, that is 22,000 won less per child.

Younger children need a different order

The two days above assume primary-school children. With preschoolers, do not give Lotte World a whole day. What they can ride is concentrated in the children’s section, half a day covers it, and their stamina runs out before the day does.

With two preschoolers that is 44,000 won saved at Lotte World alone, which pays for another day out.

If you have a third day

Go to Yeongdo. The National Maritime Museum is free and the Danubi train is 12,000 won for four. It gives back some of what the first two days cost. Add ARTE MUSEUM on the same island and the day splits evenly between indoors and out.

If it rains, give day 2 to the science museum and push Lotte World to another day. The Busan park is outdoors and there is not much of it to use in the wet.

Frequently asked questions

See the full Busan travel guide →

🗺️ Busan guides →

Browse all our guides →

Images: Photographs from the Busan Tourism Archive (visitbusan.net/archive) under KOGL Type 1. Aquarium and Songdo cable car: Hyphen Group / Busan Tourism Organization. Science museum train and water playground: Summertree, Shin Kyung-min / Busan Metropolitan City. Dadaepo fountain: Summertree, Kim Yun / Busan Metropolitan City.