"A Place Like This in Seoul? The 22.8 Billion Won Magok Safety Experience Center Is Worth Every Penny"

Up to 144,000 People Can Receive Hands-On Safety Training Annually
A 3,825-Square-Meter Experience Center Built on Underground Reservoir Land
First Case of Collaboration Among Gangseo District, Seoul City, and the Metropolitan Office of Education

Magok Safety Experience Center Director Heo Yongha is explaining to reporters the evacuation guidelines according to the water level when inside a semi-basement or a vehicle. Photo by Minjin Kim enter@

"Try pushing the door as hard as you can. Right now, the water has risen to calf height. If the water reaches your knees, even adult men will find it difficult to open the door."

On the monitor screen, which resembled the stairs of a semi-basement, water could be seen rising up to knee level. Weighing over 70 kilograms, I pushed the fire door with all my strength. The door moved about 10 centimeters before closing again. It was baffling. The pressure from outside the door was much stronger than expected.

On the third floor of the Magok Safety Experience Center in Gangseo District, Seoul, Director Heo Yongha explained the situation in front of the disaster safety simulation room’s fire door. He said, "When a heavy rain advisory is issued, you must evacuate before the water rises to 30 centimeters from the floor. If the water exceeds that height, you must call 119 without hesitation." Director Heo added, "You can escape if the water level is below 30 centimeters, but if it rises above that, it’s almost impossible to get out on your own."

I moved to the traffic safety experience room on the second floor. I sat in a model bus seat identical to those in city buses and fastened my seatbelt as instructed. When the bus simulation began, a 3D screen displaying the streets of Magok-dong appeared on both sides and in front.

Suddenly, a passenger car ahead slammed on the brakes without warning, and a truck merging from the right collided with the bus. Even though I was wearing a seatbelt, the impact was so strong that it felt like I could be thrown out. "Ah, this is..."

This was a situation anyone could face while riding a bus. Using the emergency hammer provided on the bus, I struck both upper corners of the window in turn. The virtual screen showed the glass shattering, allowing for escape. The instructor added, "This is the only facility of its kind in the country."

The Magok Safety Experience Center, which opened on April 17, is a hands-on safety education facility where people can directly experience and prepare for various disasters and dangerous situations. It will operate on a trial basis until next month and officially open in July this year.

At 11 a.m. on May 7, when I visited the center, about 50 fourth and fifth grade students from nearby Gongjin and Sumyeong Elementary Schools came for experiential education. The children covered their heads and crawled under desks to experience earthquake tremors firsthand, and, with excited faces, held onto steel railings as they moved through strong winds.

Students from Gongjin Elementary School visiting Magok Safety Experience Center are performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation following the instructor's explanation. Provided by Gangseo District Office.

In the first aid experience room, 24 fourth-grade students from Gongjin Elementary School each pressed down vigorously on a CPR Anne mannequin. Han Kyunghee, the instructor in charge of CPR training, said, "Interlock your fingers in the same direction, keep your knees at a 90-degree angle, and press straight down in rhythm with the instructions."

"You can't just press hard." "If you press down 5 centimeters, you must allow the chest to fully recoil by the same amount." "The speed should be neither too fast nor too slow."

Instructor Han raised her voice. The children seemed a bit noisy, but when their scores, much improved from the first practice, appeared on the large screen, they cheered. Each mannequin was numbered, and the screen in the experience room displayed arrows and percentages showing whether the speed and force were correct. Since participants could immediately check if they were performing first aid correctly, the learning effect was even greater.

Director Heo said, "This experience center is the first case in the country built through cooperation and shared funding by Gangseo District, Seoul City, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education," adding, "It can provide experiential education opportunities to 144,000 people annually, including students and adults."

The Magok Safety Experience Center is a three-story building with a total floor area of 3,825 square meters (1,157 pyeong) and a total project cost of 22.8 billion won. It can run 12 programs across six fields: traffic safety, natural disaster safety, fire safety, health safety, social infrastructure safety, and student safety. It was built on land within Balsan Neighborhood Park that contains an underground reservoir. The basement of the center still serves as a reservoir for flood prevention. The facility, once considered undesirable, has been transformed into an experience center, and local residents have responded positively.