Lotte World

Yesterday was one of the most bizarre experiences of copyright infringement I have ever experienced- yet somehow, the place is still in business (Disney hasn’t sued). Yestderday I went to “Lotte World,” which is owned by a gigantic multi-industry corporation, called Lotte. "Lotte World" is a Disneyworld-esque indoor amusement park. As huge as it is, the park is just one part of a gigantic building that includes stores, restaurants, a large public skating rink, and a cultural history museum.

We began our day touring the history museum, which began with exhibits on cavemen and progressed chronologically through Korean history. As you see in the pictures here, there were large-scale models of the people in the different time periods. The first one is Paleolithic folk hunting, the second one, men toiling at Korea’s first version of the printing press. There were also models of important iconic landmarks and buildings, with little models of people to show how they would have been arranged in traditional ceremonies.



<-------A very large scale model of an old Epic Temple Meeting Place





Then we went to Lotte World. This picture of the ice skating rink gives you an idea of the general layout of the place, but the picture really doesn’t give you a sense of just how vast the place is (there is an outdoor section as well). The park area had lots of rides and games, which appeared all the more funny to me after having just watched the movie “Adventureland” during my flight to Korea from the United States.

One ride we went on was more like a game, in which a group of about 25 people sit on horses that rock, while you shoot a revolver at a huge screen that acts as one Giant Wii…so it knows when you hit the targets in the Western-themed animation sequence that is displayed. You compete for the highest score, and then it took pictures of the top 3 ranking gunslingers-which were displayed on the sceen at the end (I did not place. I’d like to think it was because the Western character who gave instructions and exposition was speaking only in Korean, so I’m sure that I missed a couple of key instructions that, had I known, would have ensured my victory). We also went on some more traditional rides, with their own Korean spin, like a log flume (that was Sindbad the pirate themed) and the rocking boats, and THANK GOD, a merry-go-round. I commented that it had been about 15 years since I had ridden on a merry-go-round, and that it felt VERY good to be back.

At about 8 pm was the nightly parade, which goes around that top floor’s circular permeter around the ice rink. The lights dimmed and the music went on, with the Lotte World themes, etc. Then a large procession of lit up floats and lit-up dancers gradually made its way around the concourse. It was quite the spectacle, with some very impressive choreography. I could tell that the five year old girl we were with was awestruck with wonder. Let’s not kid ourselves- I was pretty much enchanted, as well. The characters in suits would wave and sometimes pose for pictures. They also came close up to the young ones, occasionally giving them candy.

Finally, you can see in the pictures of the logo and the outdoor castle that the entire theme of the place was designed to look EXACTLY LIKE ANOTHER CERTAIN CORPRATE MONSTER’S THEME PARK SCHEMATIC. I laughed my janus off, noticing all the intentional similarities. The two mascots are named Lotte (Loe-tay) and Lore (which rhymes with Lotte, and the r is pretty much silent). Mickey and Minnie, anyone? It’s just business, and voodoo economics…