Seodaemun Museum of Natural History

The Seodaemun Museum of Natural History sits at the foot of Ansan mountain in Seoul. Step inside and you are greeted by a sperm whale suspended from the ceiling of the central hall and the skeleton of Acrocanthosaurus, a meat-eating dinosaur 9–12 m long. Opened by Seodaemun-gu in 2003, it was Korea's first comprehensive natural history museum run by a local government, and over three floors it walks you from the birth of the Earth through the dinosaurs to today's ecosystems.

The Earth and life, floor by floor

• Central hall: the skeleton of Acrocanthosaurus, a large Early Cretaceous predator (9–12 m long, 2–4 tonnes), shares the space with a sperm whale and the flying reptiles Pteranodon and Tupuxuara. Looking down from the stairs shows just how big they are.
• 1F Human and Nature Hall: how ecosystems connect, climate change and endangered species, with an aquarium of fish from the Han River.
• 2F Evolution of Life Hall: the story from the first life forms to humans. An Asian elephant specimen greets you at the entrance, and you can compare stromatolites, layered rocks built up by photosynthesising cyanobacteria, from Korea's west coast and from Western Australia. There are fossils from every era and many mammal, bird and insect specimens.
• 3F Earth Environment Hall: a film traces the universe from the Big Bang to the formation of the Earth, and you can touch a real iron meteorite. There is also a cross-section of a limestone cave and displays of minerals and rocks; look out for the fluorescent minerals that glow under UV light.

A museum built by a district office

The museum stands on a site of about 10,000 m², with three floors above ground and one below. Construction began in January 2000 and took three and a half years, and it is still run directly by the Seodaemun-gu district office. A cast skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex has recently been added to the displays.

Dinosaur garden and reading space

The museum garden is laid out as an outdoor dinosaur park, and since 2021 a Book Park on the third floor offers a place to sit and read. The museum also became known as a filming location for the variety show Running Man in 2012.

Tripto tips

• Hours: March–October weekdays 09:00–18:00, weekends and public holidays 09:00–19:00; November–February weekdays 09:00–17:00, weekends and public holidays 09:00–18:00. Last entry one hour before closing (as of October 2026).
• Closed: Mondays (the following day if Monday is a public holiday), 1 January, and the days of Seollal and Chuseok.
• Tickets: adults (19–64) KRW 7,000, youth and soldiers (13–18) KRW 4,000, children (5–12) KRW 3,000. Children aged 4 and under, over-65s and registered disabled visitors enter free. On "Culture Day", the last Wednesday of each month, tickets are 20% off.
• Time needed: 90 minutes to 2 hours for all three floors. Weekend mornings are busy with families and school groups.
• Getting there: from Exit 3 or 4 of Sinchon Station (Line 2), take village bus Seodaemun 03, or from Exit 3 or 4 of Hongje Station (Line 3), take branch bus 7738, and get off at "Seodaemun Museum of Natural History". Parking is charged even for visitors who enter free.
• Nearby: the Ansan forest trail starts right behind the museum, a good walk after your visit.