Dae Jang Geum Park Dreams to Become a Korean Wave Experience Theme Park
“Friday with Friends at Dae Jang Geum Park”

 

On September 18th, MBC invited diplomats from 6 countries, including China and Indonesia, and Korean business leaders to host a meaningful event of exchanging culture at Dae Jang Geum Park. Since its opening in 2011, Dae Jang Geum Park has become the center of Korean wave, or hallyu, content production and it is now ready to become a theme park for experiencing hallyu content. Let’s go behind the scenes of the event that sparked endless stories of high quality MBC drama content.

 

 “The spirit of MBC’s historical dramas kept alive.” 

 

 Dae Jang Geum Park is the biggest open set in Korea for filming historical dramas. MBC dramas that led the Korean wave, such as “Jumong, Prince of the Legend”, “Lee San, Wind of the Palace”, “The Great Queen Seondeok”, and “Moon Embracing the Sun”, were filmed here. Filming sets are mostly built for temporary use and torn down afterwards, but MBC created the space to be used semipermanently so that the spirit of its historical dramas is kept alive.

 

 On the day of the event, “Friday with Friends at Dae Jang Geum Park”, 18 diplomats and delegates who represented countries that aired MBC’s historical drama “Jewel in the Palace (Dae Jang Geum)” visited the set. The delegation included Qiu Guohong, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, Csaba Gabor, Hungarian Ambassador to South Korea, John A. Prasetio, Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea, Yip Wei Kiat, Singaporean Ambassador to South Korea, and Hassan Taherian, Iranian Ambassador to South Korea, and Arslan Hakan Okcal, Turkish Ambassador to South Korea.

 

 

 

Also, as the export volume of Korean dramas is rising and the interest towards it is getting higher, 10 Korean business representatives joined the event. They included Lee Seung-cheol, Vice Chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), Rhee In-yong, President of Samsung Electronics, Kong Young-woon, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor Group, Lee Sang-wook, President of Nonghyup, and Kim Sang-hun, President of Naver Corporation.

 

In his welcoming speech, Ahn Kwang-han, President & CEO of MBC, said, “this filming center is where the shooting of MBC’s historical dramas, Korean movies, and commercial films take place, and recently, we have newly named this location to Dae Jang Geum Park in order to prepare the opening as a theme park to attract tourists”. He also hoped that the event will be a friendly and fruitful time, creating good memories for all of the special guests who endeavor to accomplish mutual exchange.

 

The event featured an introduction of a clip from “Shine or Be Mad”, which was filmed as a virtual reality (VR) drama using new high technology, and a tour around the structures and facilities at Dae Jang Geum Park to experience Korean culture. The diplomats expressed how they were impressed by the beautiful structures that exquisitely reproduced old Korean architecture, and the business representatives said it was a time for them to witness the great source of Korean dramas.

 

 

 “MBC communicates with the world for a new future.”

 

 The diplomats said the event helped them understand more about Korean culture as well as MBC drama content.

 

Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong said, “I am convinced that MBC will continue to create good content, just like ‘Jewel in the Palace’, and do more important and new things for the development of Korean society and culture and also for promoting friendship with other countries”.

 

 

Indonesian Ambassador John A. Prasetio shared his thoughts by saying, “It was a wonderful evening and I hope there will be another time like this in the future”, and Hungarian Ambassador Csaba Gabor said, “A lot of Hungarians love Korean culture and I thank MBC for hosting a perfect event”.

 

 

 

Iranian Ambassador Hassan Taherian said, “In Iran, Korean dramas are having a big influence on Iranians’ awareness of Korea and I am thankful to MBC for making a drama that moved the hearts of the Iranian people”. Singaporean Ambassador Yip Wei Kiat stated, “I thank MBC for hosting a great event on a beautiful autumn day”, and Turkish Ambassador Arslan Hakan Okcal said, “I am glad that I was able to learn more about Korean culture through today’s event”.

 

 

 

Besides continuously developing Dae Jang Geum Park into a Korean wave theme park that communicates with the world, MBC will enhance tourist convenience by providing various attractions, such as organizing drama press conferences and fan meetings of celebrities, and seasonal experience programs.