Hallyuwood Hoping to Make it Big in Korea
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Korea's Gyeonggi Province is hoping to take a socio-cultural phenomenon, known as Hallyu, here in this part of the world to a new level.
Officials there are planning to construct an entertainment complex called 'Hallyuwood', a play on the words 'Hallyu' and 'Hollywood'.
Yoo Jihae has more on the undertaking.
It won't be long before an East Asian version of Hollywood dawns in Korea.
Determined to boost the ongoing Hallyu or Korean cultural wave, the Gyeonggi provincial government has launched construction of a million square meter entertainment complex called Hallyuwood.
And to mark its first shovel hitting the earth, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Goyang, a satellite city northwest of Seoul.
The more than two thousand guests attending ranged from government bigwigs to Hallyu celebrities.
[INTERVIEW : Jackie Chan, Actor of Hallyuwood Public Relations Ambassador,] "America has its Hollywood, India has its Bollywood and now with the emergence of Hallyuwood, I hope to see the integration of Asian pop culture".
The province has earmarked nearly 3 trillion won, around 2-point-9 billion US dollars, to transform this patch of dirt into a hotbed of cultural industries.
First to go up will be the Hallyuwood theme park, which will consist of four sections.
There'll be a studio where fans of Korean film and drama can get down and dirty on a set.
And for a full-on adventure in Korea's animation industry, there's "Animasia".
Adding to this will be businesses, galleries, cinemas and a museum, each geared around Korea's much-celebrated cultural products like films, dramas and music stars that have made their mark in cities and towns in Asia and beyond.
And how about for visitors who want a more hands-on experience?
Try Korean traditional cooking and what else? acting classes.
Putting all the pieces in place will take time but those in the know say the payoff will be huge.
[INTERVIEW : Kang Seungdo, Director of Development, Hallyuwood ] "This is where Hallyu culture will be produced, consumed and preserved. We are determined to earn as much as 1-point-8 trillion won and produce some 38-thousand job openings yearly".
[REPORTER : Yoo Jihae,] "With construction slated to be completed by 2012 on a project to promote Korean cultural content to the rest of Asia and even the world, it might not be too early to say 'Hooray to Hallyuwood'.
Yoo Jihae, Arirang News".
Officials there are planning to construct an entertainment complex called 'Hallyuwood', a play on the words 'Hallyu' and 'Hollywood'.
Yoo Jihae has more on the undertaking.
It won't be long before an East Asian version of Hollywood dawns in Korea.
Determined to boost the ongoing Hallyu or Korean cultural wave, the Gyeonggi provincial government has launched construction of a million square meter entertainment complex called Hallyuwood.
And to mark its first shovel hitting the earth, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Goyang, a satellite city northwest of Seoul.
The more than two thousand guests attending ranged from government bigwigs to Hallyu celebrities.
[INTERVIEW : Jackie Chan, Actor of Hallyuwood Public Relations Ambassador,] "America has its Hollywood, India has its Bollywood and now with the emergence of Hallyuwood, I hope to see the integration of Asian pop culture".
The province has earmarked nearly 3 trillion won, around 2-point-9 billion US dollars, to transform this patch of dirt into a hotbed of cultural industries.
First to go up will be the Hallyuwood theme park, which will consist of four sections.
There'll be a studio where fans of Korean film and drama can get down and dirty on a set.
And for a full-on adventure in Korea's animation industry, there's "Animasia".
Adding to this will be businesses, galleries, cinemas and a museum, each geared around Korea's much-celebrated cultural products like films, dramas and music stars that have made their mark in cities and towns in Asia and beyond.
And how about for visitors who want a more hands-on experience?
Try Korean traditional cooking and what else? acting classes.
Putting all the pieces in place will take time but those in the know say the payoff will be huge.
[INTERVIEW : Kang Seungdo, Director of Development, Hallyuwood ] "This is where Hallyu culture will be produced, consumed and preserved. We are determined to earn as much as 1-point-8 trillion won and produce some 38-thousand job openings yearly".
[REPORTER : Yoo Jihae,] "With construction slated to be completed by 2012 on a project to promote Korean cultural content to the rest of Asia and even the world, it might not be too early to say 'Hooray to Hallyuwood'.
Yoo Jihae, Arirang News".
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