Starfield Hanam firefly pop-up with a baby — a fun kid-friendly outing at Daheuk Pop-Up
We stopped by Starfield Hanam for a family outing and ended up checking out
the firefly pop-up by insect YouTuber Daheuk!
April 9, the day we visited, was actually opening day for the pop-up.
It only runs through April 19, so it’s not around for long.
If you want to see the fireflies, I’d go sooner rather than later.
The Starfield Hanam firefly pop-up is being held in the South Atrium.
If you’re trying to find it by nearby stores,
it’s between Ahn’s Bakery and Starbucks,
one level below the Mercedes-Benz showroom, near the Patagonia store.
It’s a pretty large space, with different zones to explore,
including insect and reptile exhibits,
sand art activities, and the firefly experience itself.
We mainly came because we wanted to show our baby the fireflies,
so we bought tickets for that first.
There was no wait on a weekday, but on weekends,
I heard there was a pretty long line last year
when this pop-up was at Starfield Suwon.
Admission for the firefly experience is 6,000 KRW, or about $4.50.
That’s 1,000 KRW more than when it popped up at Starfield Suwon last year, haha.
The experience itself lasts just 5 minutes!
You go into a dark room, watch for a few minutes, and then exit.
Since each session is only about 5 minutes long,
they run as many as 30 sessions a day.
Reservations aren’t available,
so tickets are sold first come, first served.
We got tickets for the 15th session,
then waited nearby until it was time to go in.
This is what the ticket looks like.
As expected, everyone needs their own ticket, and for infants,
they said admission starts once the baby is over 12 months old.
Our daughter was 11 and a half months, so she got in free — a total win.
That said, babies without a paid ticket can’t take up their own seat,
so they have to sit on a parent’s lap.
You need to arrive at least 5 minutes before your session
and line up at the entrance.
For example, if your entry time is 1:52 p.m.,
you’re supposed to line up in front of the dark room starting at 1:47 p.m.
and listen to the instructions first.
This area is for the sand art activity.
I’m not totally sure what sand art involves here, but honestly,
it looked like a decent way to keep kids entertained
while spending time at Starfield Hanam. The price is 5,000 KRW.
There’s also a free insect and reptile exhibition zone
that anyone can walk through.
There are some creepy ones too, like lizards and snakes,
plus preserved insect specimens, and the quality is honestly impressive.
If you have elementary school kids who love nature observation,
I think they’d find this part especially interesting.
We also checked out the rhinoceros beetles.
There were turtles too!
Our daughter is still really little, so she didn’t pay attention to the insects at all,
but the turtles were moving around in a big, obvious way,
so those definitely caught her interest.
Off to one side, they were also offering lizards for adoption/sale.
They were seriously tiny and adorable.
The prices were lower than I expected, which surprised me.
When it was finally time, we lined up in front of the dark room.
A staff member came over and told everyone to turn their phone brightness down as low as possible
and double-check in advance that flash wouldn’t go off when taking photos.
The key was to do it before entering, not once you’re already inside.
Even with them repeating this over and over,
someone still managed to use flash in the dark room…
We were so ready to go in already.
One thing to know: some babies cry once they enter the dark room, so if they’re really upset, it may be hard to stay for the full viewing.
Inside, the room is truly pitch black.
At first, they keep a dim red light on until everyone is seated.
There’s a long table in the center,
and the firefly enclosure sits on top of it, covered with black fabric,
so you can’t see anything right away.
Low stools are set up along both sides of the table,
so each person sits down and watches
the fireflies right in front of them.
Once you sit down, there’s a little jewel box placed in front of each seat.
Inside that box,
there’s also a glass bottle holding
a few fireflies.
After the red light goes off too, you open the jewel box
and finally get to see the fireflies — tiny, sparkling lights.
While you observe the fireflies,
you listen to an audio docent narration provided by YouTuber Daheuk.
The species featured here, apparently,
is aebanditbul, the smallest firefly species found in Korea.
After closing the jewel box, you get to look at the main enclosure for real.
There are supposedly 3,000 of them in there!
They’re inside a glass enclosure, and the tiny green lights
blink and shimmer in a way that feels genuinely magical.
I thought these little glow bugs were lonely,
but apparently they’ve got 3,000 friends!
Because it was so dark, you really couldn’t see anything except the fireflies,
so I’m not totally sure how well my daughter actually followed the lights,
but I’m choosing to believe she saw them.
If you’re visiting Starfield Hanam with kids,
I really think this Daheuk pop-up is worth doing at least once.
Even if you’re not coming with a baby or child,
it’s still not every day that adults get to see fireflies
right in the middle of the city, so I’d still recommend going.