Korea to Develop Showbiz Village, Hallyuwood

And riding high on the so-called Korean Wave, Korea plans to create its own artistic establishment, like America's Hollywood and India's Bollywood.
Kim Hyung-eun explains.

2005 was a good year for Korean entertainment, as Hallyu, or the Korean pop culture's popularity abroad, continued.
Now, Korea wants to make a better use of what could be just a passing craze, by establishing a more solid ground for Korean showbiz industry.
On Friday, Korea held a launch ceremony for the development of a movie-making complex, whose name is, as surprising as it may sound, Hallyuwood.

SOHN HAK-KYU, GOVERNOR OF GYEONGGI PROVINCE: "The idea of Hallyuwood is to take roots of this Hallyu, Korean culture in this land, so that we can make a production base for the Hallyu industry and Hallyu activities."

Built in 1 million square meter in Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province, northwest of Seoul, the area will include a theme park, shopping centers, production houses, movie sets, education and business facilities and more.

ANGIE CHAI, PRODUCER OF COMIC RITZ PRODUCTION: "I feel that they, very strongly, want to show those Hallyu style and they want to continue. I think that kind of spirit, I personally admire that kind of spirit."

The spirit is certainly there, as the provincial government will inject about 2 billion U.S. dollars into the project.
But those who are interested will have to wait a while, as it is to be completed by 2008.

"Korean Wave has been going on for a couple years now, but it remains to be seen if it's more than just a fad.
Many Koreans hope that the world will keep its interest in Korean pop culture, and the planned construction of this showbiz village is definitely a reflection of that very wish.

Kim Hyung-eun, Arirang News."

Follow the link for the video

Advertisement