Daegu | Slip’n Slide at Slide the City Korea

Remember Slip’n Slides from way back when? A couple weekends ago we brought our inner tubes to a huge, adult-sized Slip’n Slide set up by Slide the City Korea during Daegu’s popular Chimac Festival.  The slide was set up on a curvy and hilly section of Duryu Park with trees and mountains as the backdrop. As with most everything we have experienced in Korea, we had no idea what to expect, but given the heat, we were more than willing to give it a try. 

Plus, anything that involves being a kid again usually results in having a fun time. 

I remember watching the Slip’n Slide commercial during Saturday morning cartoons and thinking that it was the funnest thing in the world. Of course our parents never bought us one, so once we laid down a thick blue tarp on our front lawn, turned on the sprinkler, squeezed a bit of dish washing liquid on the tarp and made our own slide. Years later, when we were probably too old to be slip’n and sliding, my mom brought home a knock-off version from a yard sale. We excitedly set it up, hooked it up to the water, got ready to slide…and…it kind of sucked. The stupid metal tent stakes ripped through the cheap plastic slide and eventually bent or came unfastened. Meanwhile, our lawn, which consisted of patchy dirt and a few sprigs of grass turned into a huge mud pit. 

This time around, we didn’t have to fiddle with soap, mud, and shifting tarps, but we did have to contend with a less-than-informative Korean website which resulted in me making the mistake of booking tickets for the wrong day…

Luckily we were able to get the dates switched from a mid-week evening to the weekend.

Like the old people that we are, we arrived early, hoping to avoid the nearby festival’s crowds. Our approach worked as we easily found parking and barely had to wait at all in the slide line. After pumping up or inner tubes and dropping off our things at the bag check, we queued up to wait our turn for our first slide.

Of course I made Sly go first.

After a running start, he flopped onto his tube and took off down the slippery blue path.

This is what Sly saw as he sped down the slide.

Note the part where he wipes out, aka “Deadman’s Curve,” a section of the slide that abruptly veered right in a nearly 90 degree angle. It was also the slipperiest part of the entire slide, so we were reaching max slide speed by the time we hit the curve. Even though we questioned the engineering of the slide, we both admitted that Deadman’s Curve was probably the best part.

Next it was my turn. 

While waiting in line I made sure to soak my inner tube under the water spout so that it was good and slippery. 

And then I said a silent prayer so that I wouldn’t slide off my tiny tube while everyone watched (and laughed) at me. 

Here I go!

Everything was smooth sailing until I hit and flew under Deadman’s curve, sideswiping one of the attendants in the process. I flipped a couple times with my tube, knocking against the padded walls as if in a pinball machine, and then magically emerged on the other side still on top of my inner tube.

During my second or third attempt at sliding, I totally miscalculated the distance of my tube from the slide while making a running start. The tube slipped out of my hands and I flopped, then bounced, right off the tube, landing on my stomach as the inner tube slide away from me. Of course this had to happen right at the beginning of the slide so that everyone in the line could witness (and most likely videotape) the entire thing. 

I rushed to catch up with my tube and flopped back on with just enough momentum to take me past the drier parts of the slide and back through the dreaded curve.

I know I won’t shut up about how hot it is here, but we’re doing our best to embrace the heat and squeeze in as many outdoors/water things that we can before it turns brutally cold. The slide wasn’t the longest (it was over in just a few minutes) and it could have used some help in setting up (beside the right-angled curve, the slide enough lacked water in some parts which meant we stopped well short of hitting the pool at the end of the slide), but we still had a lot of fun.

DETAILS

Slide the City Korea | COST: 9,000 KRW prepurchase, $12,000 KRW at gate. Good for three slides. | DESCRIPTION: A Slip’n Slide for adults, usually erected in closed off area with a long stretch of road (like a street) or in this case, on a slight (curved) hill. Inner tubes are required – you can bring your own (which is what we did) or buy the ones for sale at the event. They have air compressors on site that can be used if you bring your own. Baggage storage (approx 3,000 KRW) available, as well as dressing areas (basically just an outdoor tent), food, gifts, and bathrooms. | VERDICT: The slide is short and it’s over quickly, but it’s definitely worth ~$8. I have seen some of these Slide the City events back in the states that cost something like $30. I would not pay $30 for three slides unless the ride took 15 minutes and had no lines.

Technical notes: Every time I post pictures taken in or around water, I am asked about the equipment we used, so I thought I would include it in this post. I used a GoPro attached to a wrist strap (you can see me wearing it above) on video+photo burst setting. Sly used his camera phone encased in a cheap plastic pouch (specifically the Joto) that can be purchased off Amazon, or basically anywhere in Korea – they even had them for sale at this event. The pouch is surprisingly effective considering how cheap it is. Photos were edited afterward in Lightroom.