It’s official. I’m the world’s worst blogger. Honestly, I’ve been doing my best to find some sort of balance in all the things, but with Ryan gone for another two(ish months), busy season for my photography business kicking into high gear, and a four-day weekend for Chuseok having just passed, the daily grind has been a bit more important to me lately. I am, however, working on catching up on all the things we’ve seen and done lately, so bear with me while I do my best to muddle through the mess. Right after Ryan left, I knew I wanted to keep the kids busy, so we beat feet on a rainy weekend and visited Block Mom in Pyeongtaek. Curious? We were, too.
Visiting Block Mom in Pyeongtaek
Remember how I said there’s a kids’ café for everyone in South Korea? I wasn’t kidding. There really is. While Block Mom isn’t really a true café per se, it is specifically designed for children to spend hot summer days (or cold winter days…or rainy days…or anything in between). You get the picture. They serve little drinks there, as well, which classifies it as a café in my mind, and it’s the perfect place to spend a couple hours when you don’t want to drive too far from Camp Humphreys.
Located right near downtown Sosabeol, Block Mom is a new addition to the bustling Pyeongtaek scene that lets visitors – kids and adults, alike – pay a nominal fee to pick a LEGO set and spend a few hours working together to assemble it. As a mom who has a love/hate relationship with LEGOs in my house, this felt like the absolute perfect way to keep the kids busy for a few hours.
What to Do at Block Mom
My only real concern visiting Block Mom was that, while Spencer and Porter are old enough to play with and assemble LEGOs fairly independently, Mieke is not. At three, I was worried she’d get bored, but I shouldn’t have worried. Like most places in Korea, Block Mom thought of everything and created a little kids’ section in which Mieke and the other littles could play with Duplo LEGOs, blocks, a toy kitchen, and more.
The boys, on the other hand, got to each select a LEGO set of their choosing, found a desk to sit at, and started assembling. Now, I should mention that some of the sets are really intricate. I am not great at assembling LEGOs because I lack patience, so we actually switched Porter’s set for something a bit easier after about 10 minutes. It was a solid plan because we comfortably finished his set together. Spencer’s was much trickier, and while one of our friends’ dads helped him, he didn’t finish it by the end.
Why We Loved Block Mom
While Spence didn’t finish his LEGO set, he decided to do an ironed bead design instead because, yes, those were available, too. He picked a Minecraft design off the wall, showed his selection to the owner, who then provided a pattern and beads with which to follow. When he completed the design, she ironed/melted it together and put it on a chain so he could hang it up at home.
I loved Block Mom because they thought of everything. Each of my kids was entertained, everyone had some sort of success and fun, and the owner very kindly brought us all iced Americanos 서비스, or free, so we didn’t have to leave in the rain. It was such a treat and reminded me how Korea is just so good at creating family-friendly fun.
How to Get to Block Mom in Pyeongtaek
Located right behind NewCore Outlet Mall, Block Mom is conveniently just about 15 minutes from Camp Humphreys. Here’s what you should know when visiting:
Price: W6,000 per child for the 1st hour, W1,000 for each additional 10 minutes. Adults enter free with children. We were there about 2ish hours and paid W44,000 total.
Rules: When you enter, change your outside shoes for the indoor slippers and leave them on the shelf. Provide your children’s names, then have them select a LEGO box from the walls. Bring it to the owner, and she’ll find your kit behind the desk. Each set features its own laminated instructions. Take it to your partitioned desk, and get started!
Hours: Honestly, this is a bit tricky because the hours on the door were different than in person. During the week, Block Mom appears to be open around 2 PM to 9 PM. On the weekend, it was open by 11 AM.
Parking: There is a tiny lot directly across the street, but it’s usually full. We parked about a half a mile down on a side street for free, and there is a garage available nearby.
Address: 경기 평택시 평택5로114번길 34 2층 블럭맘 or search 블럭맘 on Naver
