Hanwha Aqua Planet Jeju () is an aquarium that opened in 2012 in the

Jeju Province Jeju Province (; ), officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (Jeju language, Jeju: ; ), is the southernmost Provinces of South Korea, province of South Korea, consisting of eight inhabited and 55 uninhabited islands, including Marado, Udo ...

, South Korea. It is an aquarium operated by Aqua Planet and is the largest

public aquarium A public aquarium () or public water zoo is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and aquatic plant, plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept by home aquarists, ...

in South Korea.

Exhibits

Aqua Planet Jeju, It consists of three marine-themed halls, consisting of an "ocean arena" (performance hall) and a "marine science" (science museum) and "aquarium". The main tank, The Sea of Jeju, has a water volume of and is the largest tank in South Korea. Large sharks and rays such as Sand Tiger and Giant guitarfish are bred in the aquarium. There is also a tunnel inside the aquarium. The main creatures are

penguins Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

walruses The walrus (''Odobenus rosmarus'') is a large pinniped marine mammal with discontinuous distribution about the North Pole in the Arctic Ocean and subarctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only extant species in the family Odobenida ...

arapaima gigas ''Arapaima gigas'', also known simply as Arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche,Miranda-Chumacero, G., Wallace, R., Calderón, H., Calderón, G., Willink, P., Guerrero, M., ... & Chuqui, D. (2012). Distribution of arapaima (Arapaima gigas)(Pisces: Arapaim ...

, various fishes,

sand tiger shark The sand tiger shark (''Carcharias taurus''), grey/gray nurse shark (in Australia), spotted ragged-tooth shark (in South Africa), or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a species of shark that inhabits subtropical and temperate waters worldwide. It inhabit ...

giant grouper The giant grouper (''Epinephelus lanceolatus''), also known as the Queensland groper (grouper), brindle grouper or mottled-brown sea bass, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the fa ...

s. In addition, the public aquarium carries out regular beach cleaning and underwater purification work, and has established South Korea's first specialized medical center for marine life, and is engaged in many activities for the conservation of marine life. In addition, Aqua Planet Jeju has educational programs such as a diving experience program in the main tank and an ecological briefing session for otters and penguins. Aqua Planet Jeju has started a special exhibition of Minions for about a year from July 31, 2020.

Shows

The aquarium has a large dolphin and walrus show. Many shows are held in Ocean arena and are hosted by the Eastern European Synchronized Swimming Team.

Controversies

Initially, two

whale sharks Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

and one

manta ray Manta rays are large Batoidea, rays belonging to the genus ''Mobula'' (formerly its own genus ''Manta''). The larger species, ''Giant oceanic manta ray, M. birostris'', reaches in width, while the smaller, ''Reef manta ray, M. alfredi'', reac ...

were captivity in the main tank. However, it received a lot of criticism from animal rights groups because one whale shark and one manta ray died. An official at Aqua Planet Jeju explained that "the cause of death of fish is chronic renal failure and there is no cure", but public opinion moved to release the remaining whale shark, so it was tagged and released.

Notes

External links

* *(en) {{Zoos of South Korea Aquaria in South Korea Jeju Province 2012 establishments in South Korea

Exhibits

Shows

Controversies

See also

Notes

External links