This article is written by Rajan Datar. Apart from travel Writing, Rajan is a broadcaster at BBC World News and a broadcaster/Journalist at BBC Television/Radio

When it comes to fun, Asia means business these days — big business. In 2010, six out of the 10 fastest growing theme parks were from that region. And South Korea is next in line to help Asia steal the mantle of theme park supremacy from the United States.

Executives predict that 2.8 million people a year will visit the 800, 000sqm Robotland theme park in Incheon, which is scheduled to open within two years. They also expect traditional competition to be blasted out of the water.

A two-hour drive from Seoul, the capital, Incheon is witnessing the creation of a technology-based metropolis, virtually from scratch, with high speed rail and road links to the ultramodern national airport. So it is only fitting that the futuristic robot magic kingdom will sit in the city’s hub, the Cheognan district. Landmark Entertainment, the company that worked on the Terminator and Jurassic Park attractions in California’s and Orlando’s Universal Studios theme parks, promises four thematic Robotland areas, the world’s first robot museum, a daily robot parade and a robot rollercoaster that stands 56m high. The themed areas will include a child-centred “Kidbot Village”, which looks at the history of robots, and Fun City, which promises well-known characters from film, comic books and video-games.

“If you take a normal industrial robotic arm that can twist and throw you around in 3D, it can provide so many more movements and sensations than a conventional rollercoaster, ” said Brendan Walker, a thrills engineer who has helped construct some of the most daring and scary rollercoasters in the world. “But then you start thinking about controlling our experience through artificial intelligence. It all become a bit darker and weirder. I can trust a ride operator but can I trust a robot? There’s an element of horror here. ”

The ambitious government-backed scheme is designed to showcase South Korea’s technological prowess. Education is very much at the heart of the big idea and the theme park will act as a honey-trap for kids interested in robotic engineering.

But South Koreans are not only banking on robots. Universal’s planned park outside of Seoul, a $3.6 billion project and the company’s third in Asia, is back on course for a 2014 opening, seemingly buoyed by the growing appetite in the Asian market.

Meanwhile, two existing giants of the Korean theme park industry, Everland and Lotte World, recorded double digit growth in customer visits and were featured in the top 10 fastest growing theme parks in the world.

Lotte World, the world’s largest indoor theme park, is a giant shopping, sports and activity complex, but its main attraction is the amusement centre, complete with rollercoaster, ice rink, monorail and a Magic Island with swimming pools and cinemas. Crowds of children on school trips from the suburbs of Seoul stream in through the ticket hall and leave several hours later, suitably enchanted by their visit.

Everland is an hour’s drive from Seoul in Yongin and has five themed areas, including a zoo, a Caribbean Bay waterpark and the world’s steepest wooden rollercoaster. Opened in 1976, it is the nations’ largest complex and ranks in the top 10 in the world for attendance figures. Not surprising considering the project is a subsidiary of the technology giant, Samsung.

Across Asia, attendance to theme parks rose last year by 7.3%, compared to 1.8% in the United States. Attendance in the region is expected to rise to 290 million in 2012, from 249 million in 2007.

China has 20 theme parks faring well. The only blot on the landscape is the ban slapped on all new constructions because of concerns that property speculation is overheating at the moment.

Tokyo still has some of the biggest attractions at the moment thanks to the well -established brands of Disneyland and Universal. But bucking the upward trend across Asia, Disneyland and Disneysea have seen falling attendances in the first six months of this financial year.

In Europe and the United States, analysts say, actual numbers may not be falling but spending per trip is, provoking parks to take a leaf from the low-cost airline industry and charge for “unbundled” services, like locker facilities before being flung around on a ride or dryers after a soaking on the flumes. If the US wore the crown in the 20th century for its creation of the modern fantasy fairground, than Asia is on course to assume supremacy in the first half of the 21st century.

Rajan Datar

17 November 2011

http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20111115-south-koreas-robotland-and-asian-theme-park-supremacy

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This article is written by Rajiv Arora, who works for The Hindustan Times and is based out of Delhi

My co-passenger, a Korean university student returning to her homeland after over 200 days, could sense from 2, 000 feet above the mainland that spring had done to Korea this year what the monsoons do to India each year. “Things have changed, it seems, ” she whispered. Talking about weather, as always, was the safest way to strike a conversation. Or so we thought till she showed curiosity about the mercury levels in Delhi. “It’s, um, hot, ” I stuttered, contemplating if she, who related summers with temperatures as ‘high’ as 25 degree celsius, will be able to handle the burning truth. “Like how hot?” she asked, leaving me with no choice. “About 40 degrees during the day.” The resulting (discomforting) stare from her made me pause and think if I had mistakenly said Mercury instead of India. But one thing was certain: I made it easier for her to ‘adjust’ to the ‘changing’ Korean clime. Outside the Incheon International Airport, a gush of cool wind in early April — an anomaly for Koreans (and Indians alike) — gave me the warmest welcome possible.

Lost and explored

The traditional Namdaemun Market, Seoul

When it comes to relishing picturesque landscapes or exploring Seoul’s sprawling markets, temples and palaces, a Dilli-darshan style guided tour loses hands down to a drive/ride from the airport to downtown Seoul. However, the best way to go about it, I feel, is to lose your way in the city — like I did, twice over. First in the gigantic Namdaemun market and the second time, at midnight, in an area whose name can perhaps be the toughest tongue twister. Signage in Korean was a matter of concern. But I gathered that non-English-speaking Koreans have a knack for guiding non-Korean-speaking mislaid tourists to their destinations. A bystander’s offer to walk me back to the hotel in the second instance was the icing on the cake. This atithi devo bhav treatment tempted me to take the risk again the following day. But my interpreter-friend Jinu Kim was more than happy to play spoilsport.

A curt, discouraging ‘umhmm’ summed up Kim’s response to my escapades the previous night. She linked the bloke’s generosity to my nationality: “After all, many Koreans are Indians in a way.” It was then I learned Hindi-Koreans are bhai-bhai too. As legend goes, a princess from Ayodhya (of all the places) married Korean King Suro in 1 AD and mothered one of the various Kim clans. Since then, its descendants seem to have a soft corner for their Indian ‘siblings’. But as luck would have it, I ran into dozens of my ‘distant cousins’ in the following days, all of whom used the legend to break the ice with me.

Thought for food

If there was something that long talks with ‘relatives’, who seemed enamoured by all things Indian, left me longing for, it was desi food. Which doesn’t imply that the Korean food is unsavoury. In fact, it’s one of the most nutritious and appetising cuisines. But quaffing bibimbap (an assortment of rice and dozens of side-dishes) everyday was a tad too monotonous. So during one of our attempts to bring some variety to our plates, Jinu and I visited a plush, authentic Indian restaurant, ‘innovatively’ named Taj. The sound of ‘yellow sir’ by a bevy of Tamilian waiters was startling enough for me to check if Udupi was mistakenly called Taj in Seoul. Leading the pack of southern brethren was the big daddy from the north, the chef from Amritsar, who did what Punjabis do best: put their heart in the cooking and ensure that guests have a hearty meal. However, if something stopped the evening from turning into a mini ‘India Day’, it was the crowd: I was perhaps the only Indian among about 20 other diners, all Seoulites.

Indian cuisine — northern, southern and eastern — is a hit in Seoul. In fact, Indian restaurants like Dal, Ganga, Taj etc, over the past couple have won many a Korean heart and their Wons (the Korean currency) over the past couple of years.

Times, they are a changing

A walk down all big and small marketplaces made me realise that my co-passenger wasn’t entirely wrong – Seoul is changing. The city’s rich coffee culture is a case in point. A result of the slow westernisation of this homogeneous society that takes pride in its culture for reasons beyond attracting tourists, coffee’s success in restricting tea, the culturally staple drink, to only post-authentic Korean meals or at homes shows that Koreans are shedding their inhibitions towards foreign cultures. Today, no boulevard in Seoul is complete without at least half a dozen coffee shops, a couple of doughnut outlets and a pizza counter. But whatever be the market economics or their impact on the Korean society, the bottom line is that a good cuppa and a sugar sinker certainly made prolonged winters more enjoyable.

Getting there

Air India, Kingfisher, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific have direct and connecting flights via Hong Kong

Facts

Seventy per cent surrounded with mountains

t’s three hours, thirty minutes ahead of IST

Local currency is Won, and the lowest acceptable denomination is Won 1000. Roughly, $1= Won 1000

The best time to visit is between end-March and early October

With metro, buses and cabs, Seoul has a robust public transport system

Places to visit

N Seoul tower: At 777 feet, the view is lovely. Don’t miss the square laden with thousands of ‘love locks’ (pic on left).

DMZ: South Korea’s ‘Wagah’ with North Korea. In the demilitarised zone, take a ride inside a tunnel and watch a movie on the region’s history

Miso: An entertainingly-clichéd love story. A visit is incomplete without watching this musical at the Chongdong Theatre.

Rajiv Arora

29 May 2010

http://travel.hindustantimes.com/travel-stories/seoul-mate.php

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