In a grand effort to further promote South Korea’s rich pop culture, CJ E&M has announced that it will soon build a massive complex dedicated to all things “hallyu”(Korean wave).

According to Yonhap news, the company has committed to invest 1.4 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in the construction of a theme park, concert hall, cinema, shopping mall, hotel, and other commercial facilities to be completed by the end of 2020.

CJ E&M has stated that the project is expected to start as early as next March in Goyang, one of the largest cities in the Seoul Capital Area located in Gyeonggi-do. The area, which covers 300,000 square meters, is located close to similar facilities of rivals SBS and MBC television studios.

As the complex will be approximately 20 and 35 minutes away from Gimpo and Incheon international airports, respectively, it will be conveniently accessible to tourists who come to the country pursuing their love for hallyu content. From downtown Seoul, the trip will just be a 40-minute drive.



“We are currently drawing blueprints for the theme park, the concert hall, a hotel and commercial facilities,” a CJ E&M official was quoted as saying. “We are scheduled to begin construction for all the facilities concurrently in March next year.”

Modern entertainment amenities, such as a 4DX theater featuring a variety of chair-embedded sensory effects (puffs of air, scented mist, seat motion and vibration) paired with a hyper-realistic 3D Screen X, will be among the highlights of the complex.

It will also feature and implement innovative, state-of-the-art technologies such as advanced artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robotics.

Such endeavor is expected to bring in jobs for 170,000 people, while generating around 25 trillion won in revenue over the course of 10 years in operations, by Goyang city government’s estimates.

“It will serve as a blue ocean for the city which has long been seen as a bed town,” a local official was quoted as saying. “We will try to develop a synergy effect with the media and broadcasting complex to be built in cooperation with CJ, JTBC and EBS.”



CJ E&M currently houses some of South Korea’s hottest hallyu artists such as SG Wannabe, Davichi, Baek Ji-young, Roy Kim, Son Ho-young, Hong Dae-kwang, Park Bo-ram, Eric Nam, Heize, Minzy, and Kim So Hee.