The 100-meter-long water slide in 2025



The Nowon Water Park, hosted by Nowon-gu Office, operated on SeoulTech’s main athletic field and has ran annually around August. Covering a total area of 9,000m², the water park featured a wide range of attractions, including outdoor swimming pools, a lazy river, and air slides.

The inaugural “2023 Nowon Water Park” attracted more than 47,000 visitors, including about 10,000 from outside Nowon. Following 2023, the “2024 Nowon Cool Fun Water Park” recorded approximately 78,000 visitors, including 14,000 from other districts. On weekends and holidays, the park drew an average of 4,300 daily visitors, reflecting its growing popularity. The water slide, which had been a major highlight, was extended by 20 meters compared to 2023. Safety measures were also strengthened, with 20 lifeguards on duty at all times, daily water-quality checks and facility inspections, and the posting of water condition updates.

This year’s “2025 Nowon Cool Fun Water Park” introduced additional attractions such as air bounce structures and a spinning water tunnel, along with family-oriented programs including water gun battles, bubble play, and magic shows. In response to visitor feedback, shaded stairways were installed at the water slide boarding area, while large tents and sunshades were set up in the kids’ zone and lazy river to provide protection from the summer heat.

The SeoulTech conducted surveys with both SeoulTech students and Nowon-gu residents regarding the waterpark and its role in promoting cooperation between the community and university. About half of the Nowon-gu residents knew about the waterpark and among those, a quarter had visited it. Those who went to the water park were pleased with their experience, although they were skeptical about its impact on the local economy. Similarly, all SeoulTech students surveyed knew about the Nowon Water Park and about a quarter of the students had used the water park. They were mostly satisfied with it, but there were some complaints about the foot traffic inconvenience caused by the water park.

This year’s Nowon Water Park may have marked the end of its annual run, as developments of the SeoulTech Sports and Culture Complex are planned on the athletic field where the waterpark has been set up every summer. SeoulTech has currently declined to host the Nowon Snow Sled Park, which also uses the athletic field during the winter vacation. This is due to the upcoming demolition of the main gate, which may render the adjacent athletic field temporarily unavailable. However, as the Nowon-gu Office is eager to push it forward, the final decision remains unsettled.

While most residents were unaware that this year might mark the end of the Nowon Water Park, they were excited about the upcoming construction of the SeoulTech Sports and Culture Complex. When informed that residents will only be able to use the facility after school hours, they stated that the assigned time was reasonable since it is a university facility. SeoulTech students also showed excitement about the new building, but expressed concerns about sharing it with Nowon-gu residents. They were mostly comfortable with residents using the facility at night and on weekends, but were worried that residents might push for more usage time.

The Nowon Water Park was made possible through the collaboration and shared commitment between SeoulTech and the Nowon-gu Office. The operation of the water park on SeoulTech stands as a meaningful example of cooperation with the local community, contributing to the realization of an open and inclusive campus.

Reporters

Jinpyo Hong

undohere@seoultech.ac.kr

Hyewon Kim

happyhw2@seoultech.ac.kr

Reporter 홍진표

• 직책 :
• e-mail : undohere@seoultech.ac.kr

김혜원 기자

• 직책 :
• e-mail : happyhw2@seoultech.ac.kr