One Year Before Opening, Gangwon's 'Legoland'... Preparing for the 'Post-Corona' Amid Controversy

The Nation's First Global Four-Season Theme Park... 527 Billion Won Invested
2 Million Annual Visitors... Expected 590 Billion Won Production Induction Effect
Province Aims for 1 Trillion Won Investment Attraction This Year

LegoLand Korea Resort Bird's-eye View [Provided by Gangwon Province]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangwon Province is ambitiously hopeful that 'Legoland,' a family theme park being developed on Jungdo, an artificial island in Uiamho Lake, will serve as a stepping stone for Gangwon tourism to leap forward globally.

In particular, as a core content to meet the increasing tourism demand after the end of COVID-19, various approaches are being explored to connect Gangwon's regional economy with job creation, consumer goods purchases, and outsourcing businesses.

Estimating an average annual visitor count of 2 million for Legoland Theme Park, it is expected to attract about 166,000 visitors per month, and strategies are being devised to revitalize agriculture, fisheries, horticulture, travel, and transportation industries through this.

However, since groundbreaking in 2011, the project has been plagued by issues such as cultural heritage excavation problems, accounting fraud, bribery scandals, and contractor changes, resulting in the park still not opening even after 10 years.

Last year, during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit, problems related to 'Legoland' were also pointed out.

LegoLand Panorama

Recently, there has been fierce criticism from the Pan-Citizen Countermeasure Committee demanding the activation of the Provincial Council's 'administrative investigation authority' and an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection to investigate possible upper-level involvement in the process of reducing Legoland's profitability.

Some argue that the project, which was started as a driving force for regional development, should not become a white elephant due to loss of trust, and encourage that the project entity take responsibility and proceed with the project properly.

Previously, Legoland Korea Resort (hereafter 'LLKR') announced, "We received building approval for the Lego Hotel from Chuncheon City at the end of January," and stated, "We plan to start construction soon aiming for a 2022 opening."

◆ The Nation's First Global Theme Park

Gangwon Province has attracted the UK-based Merlin Entertainments Group to develop the country's first global theme park on 280,790 square meters of land on Hajungdo Island in Chuncheon City, designed for children aged 2 to 12 and their families to enjoy together.

Merlin is investing 447 billion KRW, and Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation is investing 80 billion KRW, totaling 527 billion KRW in the 'Legoland' project.

Legoland consists of seven themes (Miniland, Bricktopia, Lego City, Lego Ninjago World, Lego Pirates, Lego Castle, Lego Hotel), forming a four-season resort complex where anyone can see and enjoy Lego.

Lego City

Completion is scheduled for June this year, with safety inspections to follow, and an official opening planned for the first half of next year. Admission tickets will be sold starting in March. Since the facilities are for ages 2 to 12, safety inspections typically take nine months (six months before opening and three months after).

As of the end of December last year, the construction progress rate was about 70%, with 12 out of 19 amusement facilities installed, and seven facilities having completed trial operations. The remaining facilities are still being assembled.

◆ Legoland Theme Park Resort Contents

The core of 'LLKR' is 'Miniland.' Using approximately 400,000 to 500,000 Lego blocks, famous buildings from around the world are reproduced at a 1/20 scale. Major landmarks from Gangwon Province and Chuncheon will also be recreated as Lego models.

'Bricktopia' is a facility where children can create various Lego models. Through education by Lego brick specialists, visitors can experience Lego Mindstorms (a play system linking Lego bricks with digital technology) aligned with recent trends.

Bricktopia

'Lego Ninjago World' will feature characters, facilities, and backgrounds modeled after the currently airing Ninjago animation on TV. Notably, the Ninjago Adventure Zone will include an aerial rider attraction.

'Lego City,' which recreates a fire station, city hall, school, and village as Lego models, is designed to give visitors the feeling of being in an actual Lego town.

'Lego Pirates' focuses on pirates and water themes, featuring a pirate ship Lego model and water ride facilities. 'Lego Castle' allows visitors to experience the medieval atmosphere with Lego bricks recreating actual castle sizes, knights, noble crests, and medieval weapons.

The 'Lego Hotel,' Merlin Group's first 5-star hotel to be built in Legoland Korea, will have 154 rooms decorated with various characters and themes such as pirates, knights, and space.

Lego Hotel

◆ Development Around Legoland and Future Plans

Gangwon Province and Chuncheon City plan to develop the area around Legoland Theme Park, focusing on lakeside, light, and waterfront specializations to create a nature-friendly tourist destination.

They are considering establishing a historic park, an artifact exhibition museum, the Gangwon International Exhibition and Convention Center, and a large-scale resort. Long-term plans also include constructing a bridge connecting Hajungdo to the opposite side of Chuncheon Bridge.

The Samcheon-dong waterfront is currently under construction for the Samaksan Ropeway, the longest in Korea at 3.6 km, crossing Uiamho Lake to near the summit of Samaksan Mountain. Plans are also underway this year to introduce a tourist tram in Chuncheon city.

Especially, in line with the opening of Legoland Theme Park, an information system including the installation of Lego symbols for domestic and international tourists will be established.

Lego Castle

The province expects that, based on global Legoland theme parks where about 26% (26 billion KRW) of the annual 100 billion KRW regional sales are spent on employee wages, approximately 26 billion KRW in capital will circulate annually throughout Chuncheon and Gangwon Province, benefiting the local economy.

Meanwhile, building on last year's record investment attraction of 792.2 billion KRW, the province aims to challenge 1 trillion KRW this year.

To this end, plans have been made to attract companies from the metropolitan area and Legoland-related businesses, establish public institution training centers, create 24 additional industrial complexes, and build key projects in each region of the province.

A provincial official stated, "Once opened, we expect 2 million visitors annually, generating a production inducement effect of 590 billion KRW," and added, "It will also create about 9,000 jobs, including for local talent."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.