SEA LIFE COEX Aquarium

Under COEX Mall, a short walk from Starfield Library, the city's long-running aquarium reopened on 26 July 2025 as SEA LIFE COEX after joining Merlin Entertainments' global SEA LIFE network. The renewal put more than half of its investment into animal care and added new themed zones. Sea at Night pairs hundreds of jellyfish with media art, Seal Beach gives its four seals a land area more than five times larger than before, and the Seahorse Secret Garden shows around 160 seahorses along with the weedy seadragon. Penguin Playground follows a family of Humboldt penguins. The aquarium is known for keeping the largest shark collection of any Korean aquarium, and the new glass-bottom boat, a first for Seoul, lets you glide over the big tank and watch sharks and rays beneath your feet. A VR deep-sea ride is also available for an extra fee. Allow about an hour and a half. The whole route is indoors, which makes it a reliable choice on rainy or very cold days in Gangnam.