Travel Notes
Art, design and entertainment converge at Paradise City, a new integrated resort in Incheon, South Korea
Art, design and entertainment converge at the integrated resort Paradise City in South Korea
The next time you’re on a flight to Seoul, keep an eye out for a golden spot before you land at the Incheon International Airport. Visible from the air, the distinctive golden circle marks the entrance of the Chroma nightclub at the Paradise City integrated resort in Incheon, South Korea. Designed by Rotterdam-based firm MVRDV, the club forms part of the resort’s ambitious plans for its art and design-driven concept. “Passengers in the incoming aircraft can already see this ‘sun’ from above the ocean, as a kind of welcome to South Korea,” says Winy Maas, principal and co-founder of MVRDV. Opened in April 2017, the integrated resort is a US$1.7 billion joint investment between Korean hospitality conglomerate Paradise Group and Japanese entertainment enterprise Sega Sammy. “We believe that art should be accessible,” explains Elizabeth Chun, vicepresident and chief design officer of Paradise group. “You can stay for a weekend or visit Paradise City during your transit and be exposed to over 3,000 artworks.”
The sprawling site presently features two hotels, a casino, concert venues, a water park and numerous facilities, which include the newly opened Paradise Art Space. Altogether, 12 local and international firms came on board to design and realise the integrated resort’s multi-faceted concepts. “We call them our Avengers,” she quips, referring to the team of superheroes in the film and Marvel comic series. “We try to work with firms that are more flexible, who can adopt our needs to assimilate more Korean culture into their work.”
ARTISTIC AVENUE
The art-influenced direction of the resort was inspired by the Paradise group’s extensive private collection and its philanthropic cultural initiatives since the 1970s. “We have a solid collection started by my father-in-law Rak-won Chun, and we have been supporting Korean artists for over 30 years,” shares the vice-president, who is married to the group’s chairman Phillip Chun. The late chairman Rak-won Chun was an ardent supporter of the arts and had acquired a wide collection of modern art by local talents as well as international artists. The group also founded the Kaywon Sculpture Art College (now Kaywon School of Art and Design) and published a literary magazine featuring the works of Korean authors.
Chun sees Paradise City as an extension of the company’s artistic roots and a way to promote Korean art to local and international visitors. She recalls visiting Paradise Hotel Busan, the group’s oceanfront resort first built in the 1980s that had embraced an earlier version of its art-inspired concept. “From the start, we had artworks displayed throughout the Busan hotel and that was really a sensation in the ’80s,” she shares. “But the artworks were playing a role of decoration.” This drove the desire to make art the central focus of Paradise City, while creating a thematic concept unique to the integrated resort. At Paradise City, art comes to the fore with dedicated venues including the Paradise Art Space and the adjacent Paradise Plaza—a voluminous space that embodies the group’s lofty plans for its art-driven concept. Designed by Hawkins Brown Architects, the indoor plaza draws architectural cues to the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, which Chun recalls visiting with her husband. “We would walk around and notice that all the good things happen in the plaza; all the entertainment,” says Chun. “So we wanted to bring that concept (to Paradise City); you’ll see a lot of resemblance in architecture.” Restaurants and a shopping mall will soon open in buildings adjacent to the art space, with the plaza serving as a multi-purpose social hub.
CROSS-CULTURAL COLLAGE
The group roped in Italian architect and designer Alessandro Mendini to dress its hotel interiors, while integrating its diverse art collection throughout the property. Medini has decorated the interiors with playful flourishes, ranging from the jungle themed family-friendly facilities in Paradise Hotel, the origami-like roof louvres that float above the Paradise Plaza to the inclusion of a colourful, oversized Proust chair situated at its ballroom wing. Designed by Medini, this edition of the iconic Proust chair has been covered in myriad patterns inspired by traditional patchwork quilts, while being the perfect embodiment of what the resort hopes to achieve: to bring together its European influences with elements of Korean style. Chun likens it to a creative patchwork: “It represents our theme of adopting different cultures.” The next phase of the pr operty will see a shopping mall, a hotel and other facilities being gradually unveiled, along with future plans for a hanok museum to celebrate the traditional Korean architecture. The resort will also continue t o host visiting international artists, such as American artist Jeff Koons who graced the exhibition vernissage at the opening of the Paradise Art Space, followed by Japanese artist Nara Yoshitomo, who will hold guest talks at art schools during his visit. The ultimat e goal is to turn Paradise City into a multi-faceted destination that brings together all elements of Korean culture, from art to pop music. “We think it’s the perfect timing for Korea to present such a concept, to introduce Korean art to the world,” shares Chun.