Sadie Sleeps through Soingook Museum Park

Y'all. Jeju continues to rock my world. There is no shortage of amazing tourist traps on this island, and thankfully so many of them are close to where we live so we can make a quick little trip between nap times and have hours' worth of hilarious photos to enjoy for years to come.

Soingook Museum Park is unlike any other place I have been. It is a little chunk of land with scaled miniatures of world landmarks. Another tourist attraction purely designed for selfies and instagram, this little gem is so. great.

The hilarity starts from the parking lot.

You're greeted by this grand entrance that features two iconic castle architectural styles. Is it a fairy tale? Is it a fortress? You have to go in to find out...

Is that an African hut? It's unclear.

And before you ask, YES that is a child and what appears to be an alien in a classic car on the roof! I LOVE IT! 

This dragon is so stoked about it's light bulb holding duties. 

We arrived just as a tour bus full of people pulled in to the parking lot, so this is the kind of attraction that is on people's list when they visit Jeju, apparently. I was even more amped about this little trip as we were walking to the entrance because they had decorated for Halloween! I LOVE Halloween! Several of the miniatures had been dressed up and there were little ghosts and witches' hats tucked into the bushes here and there. 

I'm not gonna lie, I squealed a little bit when I saw the leaning tower of Pisa model. 

Gorilla is dressed up and ready to trick-or-treat. 

As soon as you turn the corner past the ticket booth you are met with ridiculousness and it is AWESOME! 

We've always wanted to take one of these photos! 

Y'all. They're ACROSS THE POND from each other! I can't handle it!  

Sadie was over it. 

There were lots of recognizable landmarks and famous buildings...

That church thing in Germany that no one remembers the name of

Easter Island

The Acropolis, including the Parthenon and Athena's temple

St Basil's Cathedral in Moscow

The summer palace in Thailand

MOUNT RUSHMORE?! 

The Great Wall

Anemic Christ the Redeemer

Buckingham Palace with what I feel is a much too large statue of Queen Victoria in front of it. 

It's like you're really there. 

And then there were some lesser known landmarks...

Really? It's like they googled "pretty buildings in New Zealand" and went with the first one that caught their eye. We've been to Rotorua and saw this building, but...I mean...I don't think it's one of the most recognizable in New Zealand...

Moscow State University? ...okay....

You guys, the Smurf Village is totally a place...We were really disappointed that it didn't have a plaque like all the others that gave its location, scale, and historical background. Missed opportunity.

I'm sorry, can we just take another moment to bask in the glory of the miniature Mount Rushmore?

It's just. so. ...awesomely bad. 

There were lots of Korean landmarks that Tyler and I hadn't heard of, which will come in handy for planning our upcoming Christmas trip around the country. Neither of us know all that much about Korea or Korean history before the 1950s, so I'm glad we now have a list of sights to see. 

Like this Buddhist temple 

Sadie was over it. 

There were also other little gems that were there for no other reason than a photo opp. 

Who knew the Koreans liked the Blues Brothers so much? 

Ah yes, the classic pose-like-the-piece-of-funny-looking-art photo

Just. So good. 

"Hey look, it's Fair Use Wonder Woman..."

There were also some little haunted nooks...

I think they were going for a haunted woods kind of feel...I'm not sure why the grandma is crouched in the bushes. She looks completely calm in the presence of the creepy witch lady in the trees...

And questionable art choices...

Where's that hand going, buddy!? 

We had to take a little nap stop and enjoy the amazing weather before exiting through the gift shop.

They were both over it. 

But seriously, if you ever find yourself on Jeju island, you HAVE to go to the Soingook Museum Park! We will definitely be going back at some point because there was a whole section that was closed for...cleaning? Renovation? Anyway, it was dedicated to "Old Korean reminiscence" and I feel like it would have been pretty informative while also being entertaining. I'll keep an eye on when that re-opens so I can tell you when to book your flights. 

Until next time! 

Vicariously yours,