(Courtesy of Everland)
Everland, South Korea’s largest theme park, is set to lure horror movie fans at home and abroad with famous fright series such as “Stranger Things” and “All of Us Are Dead” of Netflix Inc., the world’s top streaming service.
Netflix and Everland said they are scheduled to jointly operate a horror-them zone featuring the streaming service’s original Korean drama series “All of Us Are Dead” and US series “Stranger Things” at the amusement park’s outdoor zombie land Blood City from Sept. 6 to Nov. 17.
“We planned an immersive entertainment service, which allows users to experience the universe of popular content,” said a Netflix official on Monday in Seoul.
“Users will be able to enjoy what they felt watching those shows in real life.”
MAKEUP LIKE ZOMBIES
Visitors can make themselves up as zombies from “All of Us are Dead” in Hyosan High School uniforms, just like the series’ characters wore while looking around the school’s cafeteria set. Users are also offered to experience the Scoops Ahoy ice cream truck of the “Stranger Things.”
Everland, a resort division of Samsung C&T Corp., plans to sell special food and merchandise related to the horror series.
The theme park, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Seoul, renovated the Horror Maze, an attraction requiring users to escape from zombies, with the theme of “All of Us Are Dead.
“We aim to provide memorable experiences by combining Everland’s infrastructure and Netflix’s universe,” said an Everland official. “We will be able to lure not only local visitors but also foreign tourists.”
(Courtesy of Everland)
EXPANSION OF WELL-MADE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES
The collaboration between Netflix and Everland was expected to broaden businesses of South Korean intellectual properties (IPs) to various sectors including amusement parks, content industry sources said. “All of Us Are Dead” was based on a popular domestic webtoon.
A few years ago, famous IPs were reproduced mainly as video content such as drama series.
Lotte World, a major recreation complex in Seoul, is set to launch a theme zone the Dar Moon World on Sept. 7, featuring a popular webtoon “Dark Moon: The Blood Altar” by HYBE Co., the label behind global sensations BTS and NewJeans.
The amusement park is also set to open a service based on gaming Giant Nexon Co.’s blockbuster title MapleStory next year.
Global amusement parks succeeded with popular IPs. Universal Studios hit the jackpot with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a themed area based on the Harry Potter series, for example.
Universal Studios Japan introduced the Super Nintendo World in 2021, more than doubling the number of visitors to 12.4 million in the following year.
“Corporate demand for competitive IPs is remarkably increasing,” said an industry source. “We will see more cases of applying popular IPs to various sectors beyond video, goods and theme parks.”
By Ji-Eun Jeong and Dong-Jin Hwang
jeong@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon editd this article.
