Actor reveals special reason for building ride park

By Dong Sun-hwa

Veteran actor Im Chae-moo spent about 13 billion won ($11.6 million) establishing his admission-free amusement park in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province.

“Kids nowadays mostly resort to game machines and find it challenging to hang out with others outside,” Im said on MBC talk show “Radio Star” Wednesday. “Since I built the park for children to play, I would never remove it.”

Im established “Doori Land” in 1991 with his own money. The park is about 9,900 square meters and has 10 rides, including Viking and bumper cars.

Admission is free, but 4,500 won ($4) is charged to enjoy a ride.

“I was thinking about charging admissions at first,” Im said. “However, I witnessed a couple with two children. The children wanted to visit the park, but their parents did not have enough money.”

The fee was 2,000 won ($1.79) a person, Im said, but he decided not to charge after seeing the family.

“Doori Land” suspended operations for three years due to financial difficulty and is now being remodeled.

“People are reluctant to enjoy outdoor activities these days owing to fine dust,” Im said. “So I will come up with indoor park.”