Everland will host its firefly experience festival from Friday through Aug. 30. [Samsung C&T]
Everland will host its firefly experience festival from Friday through Aug. 30. [Samsung C&T]

Everland, operated by Samsung C&T's resort division, announced Monday it will hold a summer firefly festival from Friday through Aug. 30 to coincide with the school summer break.

The firefly experience, which Everland has run in earnest since 2017, is available only in summer. Visitors can observe thousands of fireflies lighting up in person — a sight rarely seen in the city.

This summer, Everland is opening the experience venue entirely free of charge to allow more visitors to take part. The park plans to dress the surrounding area in a starlit campsite theme and expand the event into a participatory festival.

Photo zones and nature-learning spaces have been set up around the venue. Inside the indoor experience hall, decorated in a camping atmosphere, visitors can learn about the firefly life cycle and the science behind their glow through educational videos and explanations from a zookeeper.

Moving into the indoor forest experience area, visitors can witness thousands of fireflies flickering all at once in complete darkness.

An Everland official said the park hopes the event will give families a chance to observe fireflies up close in a romantic, summer-camp atmosphere and to reflect together on the importance of protecting nature.

The firefly experience runs daily from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lost Valley education center, with each session lasting about 15 minutes. Any Everland visitor can participate free of charge on a first-come, first-served basis at the venue.

To mark the peak summer holiday season, Everland will extend its evening hours to 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday from Friday through mid-August. The park will also stay open until 11 p.m. during the Liberation Day holiday weekend of Aug. 14 to 16.

Alongside the extended evening hours, the park is rolling out a range of entertainment. At Carnival Plaza, a water DJ party called "Bam Bam Summer Night" kicks off Friday.

At Safari World, "Summer Night Safari" is currently under way, offering close-up views of lions, tigers, brown bears and other predators.

Holland Village, an open-air European-style restaurant, transforms each evening into a night market themed around global street food, where visitors can sample dishes from around the world paired with international beers.

Everland is currently selling discounted evening admission tickets valid from 6 p.m. The park is also running a two-park event that lets visitors who use Caribbean Bay enter Everland free of charge on the same day.


joze@heraldcorp.com