Doori Land
  Doori Land | |
| Location | Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°43′26″N 126°57′00″E / 37.724°N 126.950°E |
| Opened | May 1, 1990 |
| Owner | Im Chae-moo |
| Website | Official website |
Doori Land (Korean: 두리랜드; lit. land of pairs[1]) is an amusement park in Jangheung-myeon, Yangju, South Korea.[2] The park's founder and owner is actor Im Chae-moo.[1]
Description
[edit]The park has over 30 attractions.[3] It has a swimming pool,[3] a haunted house, bumper cars, and indoor play area.[1] It previously had a ferris wheel, a pirate ship ride, and an outdoor trampoline, but these were eventually closed.[1]
The park reportedly had around 70 to 80 employees by 2021.[4] Im and his grandson work at the park.[5] The park is reportedly open most of the year,[2] although its traffic significantly drops in the winter.[1] Since 2020, it has been charging an entry fee.[6][7]
The park has been featured on several South Korean television programs.[5][8][9] An episode of the 2021 television series Vincenzo was filmed in the park.[10]
History
[edit]The park was first conceptualized in 1973, when Im was acting for a sageuk (historical drama) in the area.[2] He was inspired by families he watched playing in a nearby valley. He felt that conditions in the area were unsafe for the children, and decided to build a safer facility for them.[1][2][3] He began buying property in the area in the late 1970s, when his career was going well. He initially owned 1,500 pyeong (5,000 m2), and eventually came to own 16,000 pyeong (53,000 m2).[2] Construction began on the park in 1989.[6] He eventually opened the park on May 1, 1990.[2] The initial entrance fee was ₩2,000.[6] Soon after opening, he observed a family struggling to pay for entry into the park; he decided to waive the entry fee into the park, and instead charge for entry to each ride.[7]
Im claims to have been extensively involved in every aspect of managing the park, including designing it, performing repairs, and cleaning. He reportedly works long hours on the park. He reportedly has a positive reputation amongst park visitors as the friendly "Doori Land man" (두리랜드 아저씨). This image reportedly contrasted with his older public image of a serious dramatic actor.[2]
The park has struggled with its finances for most of its history.[1] Through the 1990s, he made most of his income from television appearances; he eventually began selling off his belongings in order to keep the park running.[6] Its attendance continued to decline (in part due to South Korea's declining birthrate), meanwhile Im weathered the 1997 Asian financial crisis, a lawsuit, and an alleged scam. The park also experienced storms, typhoons,[1] and floods.[2] It closed for a period of time beginning in 2006,[9] but reopened in 2009.[11] By 2016, the park was reportedly losing around $28,000 a month.[1] Im briefly closed the park in 2017,[9] and put it up for sale, but had no interested buyers. Afterwards, he decided to renovate and reopen the park. The renovations took three years and cost him his remaining assets, including a yacht and two apartments in Seoul.[1] He sold his last apartment in Seoul in 2020 and moved into the park.[2] For a year, he and his wife lived in cots in the pool bathroom.[8] They began charging entrance fees to the park.[6] By 2024, Im and his wife lived in the park's main building.[1] He estimated that he lost around $15 million of his earnings to the park; by 2024 he was $7 million in debt.[1]
In a 2022 interview, he acknowledged that, after he died, the park would likely be closed and its assets liquidated, although he hoped that a new owner wound continue to maintain it.[2][1] When asked why he still maintained the park, he said that "the happy man is someone who has a purpose, something to do each day",[1] and "when you laugh with children every day, you don't age" (아이들과 매일 웃어보세요 안 늙지).[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "He was a huge Korean TV star. Now he's broke and lives in an amusement park". Los Angeles Times. 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 남, 지은 (2022-11-03). '두리랜드' 임채무 "아이들 웃음이 좋은데 어쩌겠어요". The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b c 여의도 아파트 2채 팔아 '두리랜드' 지은 임채무, 빚만 190억. realty.chosun.com (in Korean). 2024-03-23. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ 임채무 "두리랜드, 빚만 150억원…아내와 화장실서 1년간 살았다". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b 민, 성기 (2024-01-19). 임채무, 150억 빚지며 지킨 놀이동산 '두리랜드' 공개. 헤럴드경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b c d e 연기인생 50년, 두리랜드 33년 배우 임채무 "여생은 의료봉사 다니며 살고 싶다"[복수자들]. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b Park, Ju-young (2018-09-06). "[Trending] Veteran actor Im put over W10b into children's park". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b 임채무 "두리랜드 빚 갚으려 여의도 67평 아파트 2채 팔아…화장실서 노숙". News1 (in Korean). 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ a b c 50년차 74세 배우 임채무가 34년째 놀이공원 운영하며 쌓은 공포의 '정체': '21세기 방정환'이란 말이 괜히 붙는 게 아니다. HuffPost Korea (in Korean). 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ Tamondong, Hanna (2021-03-22). "This Is The Theme Park Where 'Vincenzo' Was Filmed". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
- ^ 임채무, 놀이공원 '두리랜드' 빚 근황?…위치-입장료 관심. Nate News (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
External links
[edit]- Homepage (in Korean)
- 3년 만에 재개장한 임채무 '두리랜드'...입장료 논란에 대한 그의 생각은? / 비디오머그 on YouTube – a documentary about the park by SBS