Universal Parks & Resorts and a local partner signed an agreement yesterday aimed at establishing a Universal Studios theme park in South Korea that they want to see up and running in 2012.
"What we are hoping to do is to bring in a world class attraction not only for the Korean people but to draw tourism to this country," Frank Stanek, president of USKOR & Associates Co, Universal's South Korean partner, said at a press conference, citing the attraction of possible visitors from nearby China.
Other than the proposed date for opening the park, other details were vague, including how much the project might eventually cost. No site has been decided and financing remains in the planning stage, officials said.
"We are in the process of evaluating our options," said Stanek, a former Walt Disney Co executive involved in setting up Disney theme parks in the US, Japan and France.
He said that officials hoped to decide on a location by the end of this year.
Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of General Electric Co's NBC Universal, operates Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Florida, and Hollywood, California, in the US, as well as in Osaka, Japan.
The parks include attractions based on Universal films including E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and King Kong, as well as movies made by other studios such as Spiderman and Shrek.
Universal Parks & Resorts chairman and CEO Thomas Williams said South Korea's economic development, the concentration of half its almost 50 million population in the Seoul area and South Korean's familiarity with American cinema were positive factors behind the decision to bring a theme park to the country.
"We want to put you into your favorite scene from your favorite movie," he said.
Officials said a theme park would also draw on elements of South Korean cinema.
"We want to be part of the Korean Wave," Williams said, referring to the popularity of South Korean cinema in the region.
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