[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A racing sports theme park that runs by the force of gravity on a sloped hill will be established in Busan.
On the 9th at 2:30 PM, Busan City will sign a business agreement with Monolith Co., Ltd. at the 7th floor International Protocol Room of City Hall for the construction and investment of ‘9.81 Park Busan,’ a racing theme park using gravity acceleration based on information and communication technology.
‘9.81 Park’ is a racing sports park themed mainly around the eco-friendly racing vehicle Gravity Racer. It is a new concept theme park that provides users with a game-like experience through an app and was awarded the ‘Special Prize of Korea Tourism Star’ by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2021. The park’s name is derived from the gravitational acceleration ‘9.81 m/s².’
Despite starting its first operation in Jeju in 2020, a year when the tourism industry suffered great damage due to COVID-19, the park has gained tremendous popularity among the 20s and 30s generation, with annual visitors exceeding 500,000. Busan City expects that its establishment in Busan will greatly help attract domestic and international tourists.
This agreement focuses on establishing a collaborative foundation between Busan City and Monolith for the construction and utilization of 9.81 Park Busan, dividing roles to create a world-class sports theme park in Busan.
Monolith plans to build 9.81 Park in Busan by 2025 and will strive to create local jobs through the park’s construction and operation.
Busan City will support the administrative procedures to ensure the smooth construction of 9.81 Park Busan and provide various administrative supports to utilize it as global tourism content.
For the construction of 9.81 Park, Monolith will invest about 40 million USD directly and indirectly in Busan, actively utilizing the park operation know-how accumulated in Jeju and advanced gaming technology to add augmented reality to the racing experience. They also plan to build a virtual park to create a metaverse environment where users can enjoy racing in both the real and virtual parks simultaneously.
Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, said, “We welcome Monolith, which chose Busan as the site for 9.81 Park, believing in the potential of Busan as an international tourism city and the proven ability to attract domestic and international tourists.”
The mayor added, “The ultimate goal of the theme park is to build an integrated gaming platform connecting reality and virtual space, and Busan, as a blockchain regulatory special zone, is a city where various new industry ideas based on blockchain for the metaverse platform are actively being developed, making this a major project.”
Kim Jong-seok, CEO of Monolith Co., Ltd., said, “We will provide entertainment that matches the dynamic sensibility of Busan citizens who love sports and start a new racing sports culture in Busan. We will develop it in an eco-friendly way by making the most of Busan’s natural environment, where you can enjoy both the sea and mountains even as a big city, and nurture it into a global tourist attraction.”
Since the 8th term of the elected government, Busan City has been boosting its international tourism city brand by consecutively attracting global tourism content intellectual properties (IP) such as ‘Arte Museum,’ ‘Baby Shark Hometown Busan Project,’ Kakao Friends’ ‘Ryan Holiday,’ and Monolith’s ‘9.81 Park’ to Busan this year.
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