[The Chosun Ilbo, November 29 2007] Bringing Universal Studios Requires a Sure Strategy

Gyeonggi Province, the city of Hwaseong and the Korea Water Resource Corp. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a representative of Universal Parks & Resorts of the U.S. to create a Universal Studios theme park, golf course, convention center, hotel, shopping mall and comprehensive resort facilities. The theme park and resort, which will be built on a tidal flat south of Sihwa Lake in Hwaseong, will cover a 4.7 million sq.m area, more than double the size of the Universal theme parks in Orlando, Florida (1.8 million sq.m) and Los Angeles (1.69 sq.m). If a formal contract is signed in the first half of next year as scheduled, then the facility is expected to open in March of 2012 after W2.9 trillion (US$1=W931) in Korean and foreign investments.