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Doori Land

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Coordinates: 37°43′26″N 126°57′00″E / 37.724°N 126.950°E / 37.724; 126.950
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Doori Land

Doori Land is located in South Korea
Doori Land
Doori Land
LocationYangju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Coordinates37°43′26″N 126°57′00″E / 37.724°N 126.950°E / 37.724; 126.950
OpenedMay 1, 1990 (1990-05-01)
OwnerIm Chae-moo
WebsiteOfficial website

Doori Land (Korean: 두리랜드; lit. land of pairs[1]) is an amusement park in Jangheung-myeon [ko], Yangju, South Korea.[2] It was founded in 1990 by actor Im Chae-moo.[1]

Description

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The park has more than 30 attractions,[3] including 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

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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 and instead charge for entry to each ride.[7]

Im reportedly takes pride in the park, and claims to have been extensively involved in every aspect of managing it. He claims to have designed it, he performs repairs, and he cleans it. He reportedly works long hours, sleeping late and rising early to work on the park. Among park visitors, he has developed a positive reputation 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, Im made most of his income from television appearances; this income stream began to decline in later years. 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, Im acknowledged that, after he died, the park would likely be closed and its assets liquidated, although he hoped that a new owner would continue to maintain it.[2][1] When asked why he still maintained the park instead of living on renting out his former real estate properties,[2] 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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 남, 지은 (2022-11-03). '두리랜드' 임채무 "아이들 웃음이 좋은데 어쩌겠어요" ['Dooriland' Im Chae-moo "Children's laughter is so good, what can I do?"]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  3. ^ a b c 여의도 아파트 2채 팔아 '두리랜드' 지은 임채무, 빚만 190억 [Lim Chae-mu, who built 'Dooriland' by selling two apartments in Yeouido, has 19 billion won in debt]. realty.chosun.com (in Korean). 2024-03-23. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  4. ^ 임채무 "두리랜드, 빚만 150억원...아내와 화장실서 1년간 살았다" [Lim Chae-moo "Dooriland, 15 billion won in debt... I lived in the bathroom with my wife for a year"]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). 2021-09-04. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  5. ^ a b 민, 성기 (2024-01-19). 임채무, 150억 빚지며 지킨 놀이동산 '두리랜드' 공개 [Lim Chae-moo reveals 'Dooriland', an amusement park he saved with 15 billion won in debt]. 헤럴드경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  6. ^ a b c d e 연기인생 50년, 두리랜드 33년 배우 임채무 "여생은 의료봉사 다니며 살고 싶다"[복수자들] [Actor Lim Chae-moo, 50 years of acting, 33 years in Dooriland, "I want to spend the rest of my life doing medical volunteer work" [Avengers]]. The Dong-A Ilbo (in Korean). 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b 임채무 "두리랜드 빚 갚으려 여의도 67평 아파트 2채 팔아...화장실서 노숙" [Lim Chae-moo "Sold two 67-pyeong apartments in Yeouido to pay off Dooriland debt... sleeping in a bathroom"]. 뉴스1 (in Korean). 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  9. ^ a b c 50년차 74세 배우 임채무가 34년째 놀이공원 운영하며 쌓은 공포의 '정체': '21세기 방정환'이란 말이 괜히 붙는 게 아니다 [The 'identity' of the fear accumulated by 74-year-old actor Im Chae-moo, who has been running an amusement park for 34 years: It's not for nothing that he is called '21st century Bang Jeong-hwan']. HuffPost Korea (in Korean). 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  10. ^ Tamondong, Hanna (2021-03-22). "This Is The Theme Park Where 'Vincenzo' Was Filmed". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  11. ^ 임채무, 놀이공원 '두리랜드' 빚 근황?...위치-입장료 관심 [Lim Chae-mu, current status of the debt at the amusement park 'Dooriland'?... Interest in location and admission fee]. Nate News (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-11-18.
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