KMK: Bucheon Robot Museum

Bucheon is one of the many satellite cities that exist on the edges of Seoul. Far enough away from the limelight that it has its own character, but still close enough for those who seek to bask in the bright shiny lights, Bucheon has a lot to offer.

I discovered recently that one of those attractions Bucheon boasts is its very own Robot Museum. That’s right, I couldn’t believe it either! Robots have long held a special spot in my heart ever since I first laid eyes on that cute little spunky R2-D2 and his bitchy best friend C3P0. Who could not love them, right? So, with my friend Kalli by my side, I made the trip in anticipation of a futuristic smorgasbord of robotic zaniness.

The Bucheon Robo Park is just a few blocks from Songnae Station on the blue line. The prices range from W3,000 for children to W5,000 for adults. Students and the disabled as well as Senior citizens get a discount.In summer their opening hours run from 10AM to 6PM while in the winter season its 10AM to 5PM. Once there we were a little put off that the facilities are only two floors of an office building, but we didn’t let that deflate our enthusiasm for long.

Inside, we felt kind of lonely since we were apparently the first visitors for the day. We bought our tickets, entered, and found ourselves face to face with a Robotic steel mistress welcoming us to the museum. Well, she welcomed us after we pressed the button. Also in the lobby is a little souvenir shop selling robotic themed Legos, remote controlled robots, and trinkets and such. The ticket lady reminded us about the movie in the 4D theater so we had that to look forward to as we rarced through the museum with glee.

Sadly that glee dimmed a bit as we learned soon enough that most of the exhibits were either broken, not turned on, or shall we say a little on the boring side. I shouldn’t be such a robot snob. Those industrial behemoths serve a purpose and are just as important as the sleek humanoid robots that I love so much. Heck, they’re probably more important as they actually get stuff done and make our lives easier, but I just can’t help it if I like the stupid little robot dogs that bark when you call them and not the intimidating iron arm with the death claw that moves cans around.

Thankfully, the robot museum had a place for my beloved robot dogs and similar modeled machines. They also had toy robots, learning robots with LCD screens to help kids do homework and a cool robot sports center. The sports center featured dueling robots (sadly out of commission) as well as remote controlled robots you could maneuver to play ping pong or race. There’s also a section featuring robots potential use in the home of the future and how they are being used in the here and now to help the disabled.

Before we knew it the time had passed and it was time for the movie. Let me just say that the best thing about this movie was the 4D experience of bursts of cool air shooting at my face and the rumble of my seat which was actually quite soothing for my back. The movie itself sucked. Maybe if I was a prepubescent the whole thing might have been fun, yeah, I’m not and so it wasn’t. The film didn’t even have anything to do with robots and instead focused on how flowers work in nature. Yeah.

In the end I’m glad I went to the Robo Park but unless they are getting a life sized Transor Z or a Voltron Mecha Mega Robot I don’t think I’ll be going back.
Website: http://www.robopark.org
phone: 032-621-2090
Address: 401-1503 Yagdea-dong Wonmi Gu Bucheon