Legoland Korea Resort was opened to the public on Children’s Day, May 5, 11 years after the historic relics were discovered near the site.
The new theme park is the first Legoland built in the northern town of Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, and the third Legoland in Asia for Marlin Entertainment, after resorts in Japan and Malaysia.
Tickets sold out prior to the resort’s official debut with over 40 interactive rides, admitting a total of 12,000 visitors, The Korea Herald report.
“Legoland Korea is a place for children and their families. It’s Children’s Day, so the opening is even more meaningful. I believe this will be a theme park for anyone looking for a real Lego experience,” said Legoland. Phil Royle, Division Director, said: statement.
Marlin Entertainment, the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator after Walt Disney, signed a contract with Gangwon-do to open Legoland Korea in 2011.
Marlin, November 2014 Said The company will invest about one-third of its total of £ 172 million ($ 212 million), with the rest from immovable property companies funded by local investors.
according to Local report, The launch of the park faced many delays due to lack of funding from local investors and the controversy over the discovery of historic relics near the construction site.
A civic group of residents of Chuncheon held a press conference prior to the opening of the theme park, accusing Merlin and its developer, Gangwon-do Development Corporation (GJC), of violating the terms of the site’s conditional permits. bottom.
They claimed that Legoland was allowed to proceed between 2014 and 2017, after the GJC agreed to build another park and exhibition hall to preserve the artifacts, The Korea Herald. report.
“LEGOLAND’s license is currently invalid because it does not fully meet the conditions for a conditional license,” a civic group said on Monday. The group also accused the Cultural Heritage Administration of ignoring the relics.
“Nothing has changed” regarding the storage of relics, said Oh Dong-chul, chairman of the Chunkawa Civil Society Network, despite the 2017 settlement requiring preparations for the park and exhibition hall on the opening day. The report states that the artifacts were covered in black plastic and stored in a greenhouse.
“Our group has participated in multiple hunger strikes, including one in 2019. Over 150 billion won ($ 118 million) has been poured into the theme parks from the early stages of Legoland construction. There is no reason to delay the planned establishment of the protected park, “Oh said.
The Epoch Times is seeking comment from Marlin Entertainment.
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Aldgra Fredly is a Malaysia-based freelance writer featuring the Epoch Times Asia Pacific News.