Kim Dong-yeon: "International Theme Park, Long-Awaited Project of Hwaseong and Gyeonggi Province"

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who is visiting the United States, shared progress on the theme park project with global content company Paramount and Shinsegae Property and discussed future cooperation plans for the smooth promotion of the Hwaseong International Theme Park project.

Governor Kim held talks with Marie Marks, Senior Division Head at Paramount, and Lee Im-yong, Executive Director of CSR at Shinsegae Property, in Boston on the 28th local time.

Governor Kim said, "The International Theme Park is a project that Hwaseong and Gyeonggi Province residents have truly waited for a long time," and expressed gratitude, saying, "I would like to thank Shinsegae Property for first deciding on large-scale investment at twice the size of the original plan. Given the development trends in the tourism, culture, and entertainment industries at this time, I think such investment expansion was very appropriate."

The Hwaseong International Theme Park project was initially planned to invest 4.5 trillion won, but Shinsegae Property decided to increase the project cost to 9.5 trillion won through phased development. This represents an expansion of approximately 5 trillion won in investment.

Governor Kim then said to Paramount, another cooperation partner, "I anticipate that Paramount's stories and imagination combined with this investment will create a world-class destination," and stated, "There are various procedures and remaining tasks such as approval of tourism complex development, but I will ensure it proceeds as planned and, if possible, even accelerate it. I have also spoken with the Mayor of Hwaseong. Gyeonggi Province and Hwaseong City will do our utmost to ensure the project proceeds as quickly as possible."

In response, Marie Marks, Senior Division Head at Paramount Pictures Entertainment, said, "It is very important that Gyeonggi Province, Paramount, and Shinsegae work together to create a solid and strong partnership," and continued, "We see a very good opportunity to create a unique global tourism destination. Paramount also has great expectations for this project."

Lee Im-yong, Executive Director of CSR at Shinsegae Property, stated, "We will mobilize all capabilities of the Shinsegae Group in developing an innovative future-oriented tourism complex that allows people, technology, and nature to coexist based on the philosophy of 'human-centered development,'" and emphasized, "By actively utilizing the Paramount brand, which has a wide range of entertainment content that can be enjoyed by everyone from children to adults, we will present a differentiated theme park that is far more than a simple amusement park, where customers can experience characters and stories from their imagination in reality and enjoy unique pleasure, inspiration, and healing."

During the forum, the groups shared theme park planning proposals incorporating Paramount's movie content that continues to be a global box office success into the Hwaseong International Theme Park and reviewed future implementation plans.

The province held the Hwaseong International Theme Park Global Brand Recruitment Proclamation Ceremony in October last year and officially announced that Paramount was selected as the global brand partner for Hwaseong International Theme Park.

Shinsegae Hwaseong Co., Ltd. (Shinsegae Property + Shinsegae Construction) plans to develop a theme park covering approximately 4.230 km² on the eastern side of Songsan Green City in Sinoe-ri, Namyang-eup, Hwaseong City, incorporating brands and characters owned by Paramount. Shinsegae Hwaseong has applied to Hwaseong City for a development plan of 9.5 trillion won through phased development by 2050, with plans to submit it to Gyeonggi Province around November. The target is to begin construction in the second half of next year, open phase one in 2030, and achieve complete completion after 2035. Shinsegae Hwaseong estimates that by 2050, the induced production effect will reach approximately 70 trillion won, job creation will be 110,000 people, and annual visitors will reach 30 million people.

The Hwaseong International Theme Park utilizing the Paramount brand is planned to allow visitors to directly experience Paramount's fantastic content world that could previously only be encountered through media, and the province anticipates it will become Asia's representative landmark for enjoyment, inspiration, and healing.

Meanwhile, Paramount, which is joining in this theme park project, is a mega media and entertainment company with multiple channels including Paramount Pictures, one of Hollywood's five major studios and a world-class content distributor, broadcasting network CBS, children's cable network Nickelodeon, and music cable network MTV. It possesses a wide range of film and TV portfolio including Hollywood representative action blockbusters "Mission: Impossible" and "Top Gun," popular animated series "SpongeBob," and others such as "Gladiator," "The Godfather," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," and "Star Trek."