'K-Culture Valley' Equivalent to 46 Soccer Fields to Be Established in Janghang-dong, Goyang

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] By 2024, a content park composed of Hallyu content, including an arena (a circular performance hall with spectator seats) capable of accommodating 42,000 people and amusement facilities integrated with cutting-edge technology, will be established in Janghang-dong, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, within the K-Culture Valley.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and Kim Cheon-su, CEO of CJ Live City Co., Ltd., signed an agreement titled 'Agreement for the Successful Promotion of K-Culture Valley' on the 11th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Situation Room, containing these details.

Through this agreement, Gyeonggi Province and CJ Live City confirmed a change in the business plan to develop K-Culture Valley as a hub for South Korea's cultural content industry in line with the global cultural industry trends.

Accordingly, CJ Live City will build the country's first world-class advanced performance hall, the arena, based on a partnership with AEG, a global sports-entertainment company. Additionally, efforts will be made to contribute to job creation through startup support and to promote regional coexistence by preparing community spaces within the complex.

AEG operates over 300 arenas and convention centers worldwide, including the UK London O2 Arena, known as the concert venue for BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan), and plans to promote the business with CJ aiming for more than 170 performances annually by domestic and international artists.

Governor Lee Jae-myung said, "The core of future industries is content, and I believe CJ represents the content industry group," adding, "Although many achievements have been made so far, I ask CJ Live City to play a central role in Goyang's industry and to be a pioneer in promoting Korean culture worldwide."

He continued, "With the establishment of K-Culture Valley in the Goyang area, combined with existing facilities such as COEX Exhibition Hall 3, regional development, metropolitan transportation networks, and industrial infrastructure, new hope will sprout in the previously neglected northern Gyeonggi region," emphasizing, "Let Gyeonggi Province, Goyang City, and CJ join forces to ensure this project is not delayed and succeeds."

Park Geun-hee, Vice Chairman of CJ Group, expressed strong enthusiasm for the project, stating, "This is a project that consolidates and recreates the core competencies CJ has built over the past 25 years in the K-content field, such as the four Academy Awards won by the movie 'Parasite' and K-Pop that moves the world, into a single offline space, making it a forward base of Hallyu and a cultural center where people worldwide can feel happiness."

K-Culture Valley will be built on a scale equivalent to 46 soccer fields (302,265㎡) in the Hallyu World area of Janghang-dong, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si. It will include ▲theme park and arena (237,401㎡) ▲commercial facilities (41,724㎡) ▲hotel (23,140㎡), among others.

The project cost is 1.8 trillion KRW, and the province expects 20 million visitors annually to K-Culture Valley. In particular, over the next 10 years, it is anticipated to have a production inducement effect worth 17 trillion KRW and create 240,000 jobs, significantly contributing to the economic development of the northwest Gyeonggi region.

Arena bird's-eye view

K-Culture Valley was halted during the construction of a small-scale performance hall within the hotel site after signing a basic agreement with the CJ E&M consortium in 2016. However, after more than a year of negotiations with CJ last year, the province reached a final compromise last month, securing momentum for full-scale project promotion.

CJ Live City will begin arena construction as soon as the architectural permits in Goyang City are completed. Subsequently, commercial and amusement facilities will be built sequentially, with the project aiming for final completion in 2024.