[News Article] Mohegan Inspire aims to become Korea's largest entertainment resort leveraging K-pop'…
Mohegan Inspire aims
to become Korea's largest entertainment resort leveraging K-pop's global
popularity
By
Lee Hae-rin, The Korea Times - INCHEON – Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort
aims to become the largest entertainment resort in the country attracting 3.5
million annual visitors by leveraging the growing global popularity of K-pop
and K-culture, the resort said, Wednesday. “After
eight years of hard work, COVID-19, all kinds of challenges, we’re finally
here. We soft-opened on Nov. 30, and on the third day of our opening, we hosted
the Melon Music Awards and welcomed over 12,000 fans into the resort,” Chen Si,
the company's chief operating officer, said during a press conference. The
Melon Music Awards is an annual music awards show that took place on Dec. 2. Ahead
of its full launch, scheduled for early next year, the resort launched three
hotel towers, restaurants, entertainment and MICE (meetings, incentives,
conferences and exhibitions) facilities and a multipurpose performance venue
around the soft opening last month. It expects to receive 3.5 million visitors
next year, foreseeing itself to become “the biggest and largest operator” of an
entertainment complex in Korea, he said. The
resort’s key feature as an entertainment complex is the arena, Korea’s first
indoor multipurpose performance venue, which will “completely change the
concert experience,” in Korea, according to Jamie Jang, general manager of the
arena. Built
and designed to be optimal for live concerts, the 15,000-seated venue grants
great stage proximity and visibility to audience members, Jang explained. All
seats are built staggered to ensure the best viewing angle, while the distance
between the farthest seat and the stage is only 75 meters, which is 10 meters
shorter than the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil, the largest concert venue in the
country. The
world-class audio system and food and beverage facilities around the concert
venue in the integrated resort will enrich music fans’ and concert-goers’
entertainment experience to another level, according to Jang. Around
60 percent of events held here will be music concerts, while the remaining 30
percent and 10 percent will respectively be indoor sports and corporate events.
The multipurpose venue can be modified by moving the stage and audience
structures, making it suitable for hosting a wide range of events. From
the arena, the resort expects to generate annual sales of over 50 billion won
($37 million) in the country’s 1 trillion won concert market and contribute to
the local economy in Incheon’s Yeongjong Island by bringing more consumers. “Our
focus on driving foreign people into Incheon is not just based on the resort,
it’s also leveraging the entire K-culture and K-pop as well,” Si said,
highlighting the programming for the arena would be critical to driving traffic
to the resort complex. The
venue will stage K-pop sensation SHINee member Taemin’s solo concert this
weekend, as well as TVXQ and AKMU and many more K-pop performances. Following
the soft opening, the resort will open the remaining facilities gradually. The
shopping area and a foreigner-exclusive casino will open in the first quarter
of next year, while the outdoor entertainment facility, an international food
court and an exhibition center will open in the following quarter. Source:
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2023/12/141_365065.html
2023.12.18
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