April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Development Company’s Hyundai IPark Mall said Monday that it will open South Korea’s biggest indoor theme park at its Yongsan location on Feb. 10.

Together with Daewon Media -- the company behind Korean animation “Young Shim” and which holds licenses for works of Japan’s Studio Ghibli and Japanese manga series “Doraemon” and “One Piece” -- IPark Mall aims to build a place where an animation kingdom becomes reality.

 

Yongsan IPark Mall’s Popcorn D-Square. HDC IPark Mall

The animation theme park, Popcorn D-Square, will encompass the entire 3,300 square meters of the sixth floor of IPark Mall, bringing to life villages from the famous cartoons. 

An exhibition hall, theater, souvenir shops and cartoon-themed streets will also fill the space, offering various experiences, including exhibitions, screenings and performances for visitors.

To celebrate the opening, it will hold an animation exhibition on the world’s masterpiece animations, which will feature animation, art printing, sculptures and digital contents of “Anne of Green Gables” by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery and Patrasche from “A Dog of Flanders” by Belgian author Ouida.

Inside Popcorn D-Square, it will also open the country’s largest “kidult” item store, Toy and Hobby.

IPark Mall has recently been moving aggressively to build more partnerships to expand its categories of business, aiming to become a “global amusement mall.”

In 2015, HDC entered duty-free business by opening HDC Shilla Duty Free, a joint venture with Hotel Shilla at Yongsan IPark Mall. In August, it also opened a movie theme park with CGV.

By Kim Da-sol/The Korea Herald (ddd@heraldcorp.com)