Grevin wax museum opens in Seoul
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By Yun Suh-young
Ban Ki-moon, Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Bae Yong-joon and Kim Yu-na. These are all people you can meet in a day if you visit a particular location in Seoul.
The Grevin Museum, a French wax museum with a 133-year history, opened Thursday in Jung-gu, in the heart of Seoul. It is the museum’s first Asian branch.
"As hallyu, the Korean wave, is spreading across Asia, we decided to come to Seoul,” said Dominique Marcel, CEO of Compagnie des Alpes, which owns the museum. “When we select a city to open a museum, we estimate the potential of the city _ the potential to attract tourists.
"Seoul is strong with cultural content, from movies and music to cosmetics. Seoul is becoming an important destination."
There also are Grevin museums in Paris, Montreal and Prague ― all run by Compagnie des Alpes. The first opened in Paris in 1882.
When entering the Seoul museum, visitors will be guided to the fourth floor where hallyu stars such as Jang Dong-gun, Bae Yong-joon, Kwon Sang-woo and Ahn Jae-wook will greet them in the first room, themed "red carpet."
Inside the four-story building, there are 14 exhibition halls with different themes -- such as "geniuses of the century," "presidential aircraft" and "beauty salon" -- and eight interactive rooms where visitors can participate in activities from roulette to motor racing.
In the themed rooms, people related to the theme are exhibited. For instance, in the "genius" room, there are Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein; and in the "presidential aircraft" room, built like the inside of a real airplane in collaboration with Asiana Airlines, you will find United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Chinese President Xi Jinping, United States President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II on board. In the "beauty salon," Audrey Hepburn, Paris Hilton and Princess Diana are busy dressing up.
Near the end of the exhibition, there is the "Discovery Atelier" where visitors learn of the wax-figure production process and can experience making their own figures through three-dimensional scanning.
The museum features 80 life-size wax figures of celebrities and influencers, 30 of which are of Koreans. The museum plans to add four to five models a year as it does at the other museums. It takes six months to produce each wax figure.
When asked what the selection process was for the Korean models, Kim Yong-gwan, president of Grevin Korea, said it was based on historical importance.
"We chose iconic people who became the 'first Korean' to rise to international fame in a certain field and proudly represent the nation," he said.
Of all the wax museums, Grevin Seoul features the largest number of Korean celebrities.
The museum is near the City Hall. Tickets cost 23,000 won for adults, 18,000 won for teenagers and 15,000 won for children. For more information, call 02-777-4700.