The largest film theme park in the country will be built in Damyang County, South Jeolla Province.
An official from the Damyang County government said on Nov. 23, "We will build a large-scale film theme park that will shed light on the achievements of national heroes, including anti-Japanese independence fighters and national leaders who dedicated their lives to the independence of the country during near-modern history".
Construction will proceed with all civilian investments totalling 50 billion won. The theme park will be built on a 660,000-sq. meter area in Ssangtae-li, Yong-myon, Damyang County, and be the largest of its kind in the country.
The Damyang County government has recently signed investment contracts with the film production agencies SLJ and ArtInfra. The agencies will begin building TV drama sets in April next year.
At the film theme park, the film production agencies will shoot a TV drama that will shed light on five national heroes: national leader Kim Ku, independence fighter Ahn Joong-keun, General Kim Jwa-jin--the hero of the Cheongsan-li Battle, General Hong Beom-do, and patriot Ahn Chang-ho.
This epic drama will be filmed starting from 2007, when the construction of the filming sets is completed. The drama, which will consist of 50 episodes for each national hero, will be aired via KBS.
The filming sets to be built at the theme park will feature about 200 replicas of historical structures, including the Provisional Republic of Korea Government building in Shanghai, China; the old Seoul City Hall; a training camp for the Independence Army; a village of Korean nationals in a foreign country; the Seodaemun Intersection in Seoul; and the Seodaemun Prison.
A tourist tram will take visitors around the theme park, where various kinds of performing stages, recreation and lodging quarters, a training center, a shopping mall, and a sports center will also be built.
In addition, the theme park will be furnished with a theater, an exhibition hall, and an archives library so that young children and students can learn the significance of the patriots' anti-Japanese independence movement.
"We expect this theme park to help young children and students learn the meaning of the independence movement and provide tourists with many attractions, contributing to the galvanization of the local economy", said the official from the Damyang County government.
