The cousins came over on Saturday morning. By 10 a.m. there were four kids on our living-room floor arguing about what to do with the rest of the day. Two were mine, my older one is 10, my younger one is 9. The other two were their cousins, all four of them around the same age. Indoor options got vetoed quickly. Outside was clear, low-humidity, the kind of spring day you don’t get many of. So we packed a small cooler, a glove and a baseball, and a tube of bubble solution from the bottom of a drawer. Then we drove to Misari Park Hanam. This is my first English write-up of the park as a parent who lives ten minutes away, what it’s like with four kids, what worked, and what I’d do differently next time.
Saturday, 10 a.m. — Four Kids and Three Options
We had three options on the table. Lotte World was too crowded for a spring Saturday and a long line just to buy tickets. Children’s Grand Park near Konkuk was fine, but we go there often, and “again?” was already on the kids’ faces. Misari Park Hanam, a wide stretch along the Han River, sits about ten minutes by car from where we live in Hanam. The deciding factor was simple. Misari has a four-seater pedal car rental and a long flat lane that doesn’t allow cars or motorcycles. Four kids on one rental bike, no traffic. Enough said.
Misari has an interesting backstory. It hosted the canoe and rowing events for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. That artificial channel from the races is still there, which is why the river-adjacent stretch is wider and calmer than most Han River parks. Hanam sits east of Seoul, just past Songpa, and Misari sits on the western edge of the city’s riverfront.
For families staying around Songpa or Gangdong, the drive is roughly the same as crossing into Jamsil. From central Seoul it’s about half an hour via Olympic-daero. From Misa Station on subway Line 5, it’s a 15-minute walk to the rental kiosk. Plenty of foreign families visiting Korea base themselves around Jamsil for Lotte World access. Misari is the under-rated half-day add-on if you want a contrast. The kids burn energy outside instead of in lines.
A Quick Note on the Korean Name
One thing I’d flag for non-Korean readers. The official Korean name is 미사경정공원 (Misa Gyeongjeong Park), and Korean signs and maps will use that name. English search results will sometimes call it Misari Regatta Park or Misa Hangang Park. They’re all the same place. The Google Maps link further down resolves to the right spot regardless of which spelling you’ve seen.
Renting the Pedal Car at the Kiosk
The rental kiosk sits at the entrance to the car-free lane. Several models are on offer. Single bikes, tandem bikes, and the big four-seater pedal cars with a striped canopy and a panda decal on the front. We went straight for the four-seater. Math worked out cleanly: four kids, four pedal seats, two adults shouting “left!” from outside.
Rental was about ₩20,000 for an hour, around what most Han River bike rentals charge for a four-seater. They asked for a photo of an ID and gave a quick safety run-through. The four-seater is wider than it looks. Steering wheel is in the front-left seat. My older one wanted to drive. I rode shotgun in the front-right and tapped the brake whenever a stroller appeared on the path, which felt like every other minute.
Where the Bike Lane Goes (and What It Looks Like)
The lane runs for what felt like a few kilometers. Smooth pavement, gentle curves. A couple of small hills the older kids pedaled through and the younger ones pretended to. We made one full loop in about half an hour. That left another stretch of time for the slow scenic ride by the water. The cousins took the steering for the second loop. By the time we returned the bike, all four were red-faced and asking for water, which was about the energy curve I was hoping for.
What Other Bike Options Are There?
- Single bike, around ₩5,000/hour. Best for a parent who wants to ride alongside a kid on their own bike.
- Tandem bike (2-seater), around ₩10,000/hour. Best for one parent plus one young kid in the rear.
- Two-seater pedal car (with canopy), around ₩15,000/hour. Best for two adults or one adult plus one kid.
- Four-seater pedal car, around ₩20,000/hour. Best for two adults plus two kids, or four kids with an adult walking alongside.
Prices are approximate and shift slightly by season and weekend pricing. Bring cash or a card. The kiosk takes both. Helmets are not enforced for the slow lane but they do have a small stack if you ask.
A Park Where No Cars Are Allowed Inside
Ask any Korean parent what stresses them out about most parks. The honest answer is traffic. Even at parks where cars are kept to one perimeter road, you spend half your mental bandwidth scanning for moving metal. Misari Park Hanam closes the entire interior lane to cars and motorcycles. Bikes and pedestrians only. This sounds small. In practice it changes the posture you carry around the whole park.
Our daughter wandered ahead a stretch at one point, just walking the lane with a juice box in one hand. I noticed and didn’t sprint after her. Nothing fast was going to come around the bend. That feeling, being at a park where you don’t have to keep one hand half-raised in case you need to grab a kid, is genuinely rare in metro Seoul. Misari is one of the few places that just gives it to you for free.
If you’ve taken kids to Han River parks closer to Seoul (Yeouido, Banpo), you know the gap I’m describing. Yeouido has cars threading through the park area along the Olympic-daero exits. Banpo has the bridge ramps and a steady flow of motorcycle delivery riders cutting across the bike paths. Misari has neither. The interior is genuinely closed off.
Picnic Hour on the Central Lawn
Once the bike was returned, we walked back to the central lawn. Saturday lunch is the peak hour. By the time we found our patch of grass, the field was busy with families. Blankets in every shade of blue and red. Kites in the air. The smell of grilled corn drifting from somewhere we couldn’t see. We staked out a spot near a small tree for shade.
I’d brought one glove and one rubber-coated baseball from the trunk. The cousins had grabbed a bottle of bubble solution at the door without asking why. That combination turned out to be perfect. Two kids on catch, two kids on bubbles, switch when somebody got bored, no app required. The bubbles were the surprise hit. There’s something about a 9-year-old chasing soap-bubbles across a Korean lawn under a wide blue sky. It resets a parent’s nervous system pretty fast.
What Other Families Were Doing on the Lawn
Around us, other families had brought serious gear. One group had set up a low-table tent with a portable stove. Another had a soccer ball and was running a small five-on-five with the older siblings refereeing. A father near us was teaching his daughter to ride a bicycle for what looked like the first time. She fell, got back up, fell, got back up. The lawn at Misari Park Hanam absorbs that kind of learning curve well. The grass is just soft enough that nobody cried.
Foreign families I’ve watched at Han River parks tend to be surprised by how relaxed the picnic etiquette is in Korea. Nobody minds where you put your blanket. Nobody complains if your kid runs through the edge of their setup. The shared expectation is that a park is a park, and the only enforced rule on the central lawn is “don’t be loud after 9 p.m.” We were nowhere near that hour, so the kids got to play full volume.
Walking the Riverside Path After Lunch
If you bring your own bikes, the riverside path is wide, paved, and easy enough for a kid still learning to balance. We saw a lot of small bikes with training wheels. Parent-jogging-alongside was the most common formation. This path connects to the larger Han River cycling network. If your kids are older and can ride for an hour, you can pedal toward Jamsil and back without crossing a single road.
For walking with younger kids, the path is stroller-friendly. No stairs, no steep grades, ramped curb cuts at the gates. We saw plenty of strollers and a few baby carriers. The shaded benches every couple hundred meters are lifesavers in late spring once the sun gets high.
Playground and Restroom Notes Along the Path
One stretch heading west has a small playground tucked between two stands of trees. Slides, monkey bars, and one of those spring-mounted rocking horses. Our daughter is technically too old for it but stopped to swing for a while anyway. The playground equipment is rubber-matted underneath, which I appreciated. Many older Korean park playgrounds still have packed dirt or sand that gets everywhere. Misari has clearly been refurbished in the last few years.
Toilets along the path are clean and well-maintained, with a Family Restroom near the rental kiosk. There’s a small nursing room (수유실) at the visitor center near the main parking lot. Korean parks have been steadily adding these, and Misari has a reasonable one. Vending machines and a small convenience store sit at the entrance for snacks and drinks if you forgot something.
Ordering Food to the Park Itself
Here’s a detail I want non-Korean readers to know about. It sounds fictional until you see it happen. Misari Park Hanam is close enough to dense city blocks that food delivery apps will deliver to the park itself. People pin a spot on the central lawn. A delivery rider rolls up to the gate, walks the bag in, and hands it over. Korean families do this all afternoon. Fried chicken and beer is the most common combo. Pizza is second. We saw an entire 부대찌개 (budae jjigae, army stew) set delivered in a sealed thermal bag once.
We didn’t order delivery this time. We’d brought a small cooler with kimbap, fruit, and water. But it’s worth knowing as a fallback. If your kids hit the “I’m starving and I won’t eat what’s in the cooler” wall, you have an out. Just give the delivery rider a recognizable landmark to find you. The lawn is big and one tree looks like another.
If you don’t speak Korean, the easiest delivery setup is to ask any Korean friend or your hotel concierge to place an order on Coupang Eats or Baemin (배달의민족) and pin the central lawn area. The English-language version of these apps is partial at best, and the riders rely on Korean SMS to confirm the drop. Hotels around Jamsil and Songpa are used to handling this for guests, especially on weekends. If you’re at an Airbnb, your host can usually order on your behalf for a small fee or as a favor.
What I’d Pack Differently Next Time
A few small things I learned, in case you’re heading there with kids in the same age range:
- Sunscreen. The lawn has limited shade. We rotated under one small tree and still got sun-tired by late afternoon.
- An extra layer. Once the sun drops behind the western ridge, the riverside cools fast. A light jacket per kid saved us a trip to the car.
- A second blanket. One blanket equals food zone. The other equals play zone. Don’t try to combine them.
- A real ball, not the small one. The small rubber baseball got lost in the grass twice. Pack a softball or a bigger soft ball.
- Trash bag. Bins exist but are far from the lawn at peak hours. Carry your own out.
- Cash for the kiosk. Card works but the line moves twice as fast for cash payments on busy weekends.
- Wet wipes and a small towel. Public restrooms are clean but soap dispensers run dry on peak days.
Family Day Rating
📍 Location: Hanam, eastern edge of metro Seoul
🏷️ Category: Family Travel & Activities
💰 Price: Park entry free, pedal car rental ~₩20,000/hour
🎯 Best Age Range: 5–13 (younger kids fine if they can pedal)
⭐ Overall: 4.5 / 5
⭐ Family Friendliness: 5 / 5, open lawn, no cars, easy for any kid age
⭐ Age Fit (9–10): 5 / 5, pedal car, catch, bubbles, river path all worked at this age
⭐ Safety & Stroller Access: 5 / 5, flat paved paths, no traffic inside, ramped curbs
⭐ Value for Money: 4.5 / 5, entry free, only pedal car costs
⭐ Parking & Access: 4 / 5, parking lot exists but fills by late morning on weekends
⭐ Variety of Activities: 4.5 / 5, bikes, picnic, river walk, kites, all in one place
How to Find Misari Park Hanam
🚗 From central Seoul: 25–35 minutes via Olympic-daero
🚇 Nearest Station: Misa Station (Line 5), 15-minute walk to the rental kiosk
🕒 Hours: Park is open daily. Pedal car rental typically 09:00–18:00 (longer in summer, weather-dependent)
💰 Admission: Free park entry. Pedal car rental about ₩20,000/hour for the four-seater
🅿️ Parking: Free lot near the entrance, fills by mid-morning on weekends. Overflow lots a short walk away
🍴 Food: Convenience store at the entrance plus full delivery-app coverage to the lawn
🚼 Stroller: Fully accessible
📍 Address: Misa-dong, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do (along the south bank of the Han River). View on Google Maps
We left the lawn around six. The kiosk was already locking up the bigger four-seaters and renting only single bikes for late riders. Our son sat in the car going through photos on my phone, picking out the bubble shots, asking if he could send one to his grandmother. The cousins fell quiet about ten minutes into the drive. That was about all I needed from the day.