Northeast Asia's Largest Integrated Resort Sets Sail... Inspire Officially Opens

Grand Opening Ceremony on the 5th
Phase 1 Construction to Open Hotel, Arena, Casino, etc.
Facility Development on 4.3 Million ㎡ Site by 2046
Total Project Cost Reaches 6 Trillion KRW

Mohegan Inspire Entertainment Resort (Inspire), established on Yeongjong Island in Incheon with the goal of becoming the largest integrated resort in Northeast Asia, officially announced its opening on the 5th.

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of Inspire Resort on Yeongjongdo Island, Incheon, on the 5th.
[Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

On this day, Inspire held a grand opening ceremony attended by about 500 domestic and international stakeholders and declared its official opening. Starting with a traditional performance by the Mohegan Tribe of the United States, which leads overseas venture projects including Inspire, followed by a series of Korean traditional music performances, the grand opening marked a harmonious beginning blending the traditional cultures of Korea and the United States.

Inspire is a leisure facility built by Mohegan, which operates seven integrated resorts in North America, choosing South Korea as its first region for expansion into Asia. After being selected in March 2016 in the integrated resort contest plan promoted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, construction took over four years, and partial operations began with a soft opening on November 30 last year. The company explained that the daily number of visitors is about 10,000.

Currently, it features a hotel with 1,275 rooms across three towers, Korea’s first performance-dedicated arena with 15,000 seats, state-of-the-art MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) facilities with the largest hotel ballroom in the country, and directly operated restaurants. On the 3rd of last month, a foreigner-only casino also opened. This is the first new license granted for a foreigner-only casino in Korea in 19 years since 2005. It is the first approval for foreign investors.

Inspire Foreigners-Only Casino
Photo by Inspire

In the second quarter of this year, the outdoor experiential entertainment facility 'Discovery Park' and the year-round indoor waterpark 'Splash Bay' in the form of a glass dome will open. The largest immersive content exhibition hall in Korea and indoor children’s play facilities will also open. So far, about 10% of the total site area of 4.36 million square meters has completed phase 1 construction, and there is a plan to build the largest integrated resort in Northeast Asia in four phases by 2046. The total project cost amounts to 6 trillion won.

Yoo In-chon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "The opening of Inspire does not just mean the addition of one more casino operation in Korea, but I hope it will be a meaningful first step in the development of a sound casino industry and in raising the level of Korean cultural tourism." He added, "I also hope it will serve as an inbound platform that proudly spreads the Korean Wave culture to the world."

Chen Xi, President of Inspire, pledged, "Based on the 'Aqwee Spirit' representing Mohegan, we will strive to help Yeongjong Island emerge as a world-class tourist destination." The Aqwee Spirit signifies hospitality, cooperation, respect, and relationship-building, which are the foundations of Mohegan tribal culture.