scuba_divo
Contributor
I finally got back in the water after the pandemic unpleasantness. For those looking to refresh skills without a full refresher course, you could do worse than visiting one of the deep scuba dive pools Korea has to offer. (These two specifically are set up for scuba and free divers. They are not suitable for swimming laps and include features to make the dive “an experience”. As of writing there are 2: (click for links) K26 (26m well) and Deepstation (36m), which opened on the day of writing, July 29th 2022. I’ve heard rumours of a third under construction, but no verification on that.
I dove K26 earlier this week. K26 has been around for longer, has English on the website although they definitely preferred that I used Korean on the phone. They also have a guide program where for 103,000W (weekday) you can hire a guide/instructor to dive with you (rent a buddy). Not cheap, but if you’re struggling to find dive buddies, it’s a good way to get in the water. If you have a dive buddy, you both just pay admission rates and no guide is required as long as you’re properly certified. Also good to keep the skills fresh over the winter. The “features” are a 26m deep well, a simulated ‘tunnel’ (basically an underwater hallway that skirts an underwater room (cave simulation) that contains an air pocket. Air is filtered and refreshed every minute according to my guide.
For the price, K26 includes a tank of gas and all the equipment you need. From time of entry you have 3 hours to get in, shower, dive, shower and get out (return your locker key). If you want to dive again you need to make another full reservation you cannot just rent another tank of air and try to get in 2 dives during your 3 hours (as far as I understand their policies). There are lounge areas where you can view the pool through windows (or look out of as a diver) and I think they had a basic cafe there. It’s best to call ahead and make a reservation as they seem to try to control numbers this way. At time of writing, masks to be worn into the change room (2nd floor), then left in your locker for the dive (starts on 3rd floor). With a buddy it’s W33,000 per person (W55,000 on weekends). See linked site for details and layout of the pool.
Deepstation is newer, deeper and more expensive. At the time of writing, they didn’t have any English on their website. Everything seems more expensive. They don’t seem to provide free use of gear; they have a complete list of gear rental fees. I haven’t dived it yet, but the pictures on their site show ”features” that include a sunken motorboat, piano, (these were featured a couple days ago but have now disappeared from photos on the site, so perhaps they represent artist impressions? Perhaps just a rotation of photos for advertising purposes?) a tree, some carved rock facia, an underwater swing. As this is new, it will be the ‘it place’ for free divers and scuba divers for a few months. Definitely make a reservation. There is a sizeable brunch cafe on site and the complex also includes a skydiving school.
I dove K26 earlier this week. K26 has been around for longer, has English on the website although they definitely preferred that I used Korean on the phone. They also have a guide program where for 103,000W (weekday) you can hire a guide/instructor to dive with you (rent a buddy). Not cheap, but if you’re struggling to find dive buddies, it’s a good way to get in the water. If you have a dive buddy, you both just pay admission rates and no guide is required as long as you’re properly certified. Also good to keep the skills fresh over the winter. The “features” are a 26m deep well, a simulated ‘tunnel’ (basically an underwater hallway that skirts an underwater room (cave simulation) that contains an air pocket. Air is filtered and refreshed every minute according to my guide.
For the price, K26 includes a tank of gas and all the equipment you need. From time of entry you have 3 hours to get in, shower, dive, shower and get out (return your locker key). If you want to dive again you need to make another full reservation you cannot just rent another tank of air and try to get in 2 dives during your 3 hours (as far as I understand their policies). There are lounge areas where you can view the pool through windows (or look out of as a diver) and I think they had a basic cafe there. It’s best to call ahead and make a reservation as they seem to try to control numbers this way. At time of writing, masks to be worn into the change room (2nd floor), then left in your locker for the dive (starts on 3rd floor). With a buddy it’s W33,000 per person (W55,000 on weekends). See linked site for details and layout of the pool.
Deepstation is newer, deeper and more expensive. At the time of writing, they didn’t have any English on their website. Everything seems more expensive. They don’t seem to provide free use of gear; they have a complete list of gear rental fees. I haven’t dived it yet, but the pictures on their site show ”features” that include a sunken motorboat, piano, (these were featured a couple days ago but have now disappeared from photos on the site, so perhaps they represent artist impressions? Perhaps just a rotation of photos for advertising purposes?) a tree, some carved rock facia, an underwater swing. As this is new, it will be the ‘it place’ for free divers and scuba divers for a few months. Definitely make a reservation. There is a sizeable brunch cafe on site and the complex also includes a skydiving school.
well, that’s certainly a lot of questions.
I doubt they could keep the pool at 30C all year on solar as Korea can be pretty cloudy and cold. The discolouration might be a small leak, or perhaps epoxy like on the floor lines? All good questions, but I just dived there once, so I don’t know. Just trying to share options for local divers to know what’s out there. Inquisitive minds want to know. As a teacher I can respect that.
