Paramount theme park in South Korea planned for 2030
A Paramount-designed theme park and resort — Hwaseong International Theme Park at Star Bay City — is planned to open in South Korea with potential rides based on intellectual property (IP) like Nickelodeon and “Star Trek.”
Images courtesy of Paramount
Introducing Star Bay City theme park resort, designed by Paramount
Korean retail company Shinsegae Group has recruited Paramount Global to design Star Bay City, a resort complex complete with the Hwaseong International Theme Park. Paramount IP will be part of the new park, lending possibilities for attractions based on “Star Trek,” “Top Gun,” or Nickelodeon television series, among others.
Shinsegae and Paramount announced Star Bay City on Oct. 10, 2024, at the Global IP Company Attraction Ceremony, according to Korea JoonAng Daily, with a projected 2029 opening.
As of Oct. 29, 2025, Shinsegae is now eying a 2030 opening for the resort’s first phase, according to the Gyeonggi Provincial Government website, after breaking ground in the second half of 2026. Shinsegae anticipates the entire park being open by 2035.
The Paramount theme park will be located in Hwaseong, about 45 kilometers (or about 28 miles) from Seoul. The park will be 4.23 square kilometers (or about 1,045 acres) large. For comparison, Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif.. encompasses 500 acres.
The project will cost 9.5 trillion won (or about $6.6 billion) for total development through 2050, nearly double the original estimation when the park was first announced in 2024.
Welcome back, Paramount Parks (kind of)
American theme-park-goers may remember visiting Paramount Parks in the 1990s and 2000s, abundant with attractions based on Paramount IPs. At Paramount’s Carowinds, in Charlotte, N.C., for example, guests experienced roller coasters themed to “Star Trek” (Borg Assimilator, now closed) and “Top Gun” (Top Gun: The Jet Coaster, now called Afterburn), plus entire lands themed as Wayne’s World and Nickelodeon Central. Beyond Paramount Parks, Nickelodeon also enjoyed a prominent presence at Universal Studios Florida in its working studio facilities in the ’90s.
Photo by Blake Taylor
The Paramount Parks division was purchased by Cedar Fair in 2006, with its attractions eventually dropping its Paramount IPs. Cedar Fair in turn, merged with Six Flags in 2024.
In 2022, Paramount and entertainment company Kios announced the construction of a theme park in Bali, Indonesia, which has yet to open.
Potential stories and characters for South Korea theme park
Looking forward to Hwaseong International Theme Park at Star Bay City, Paramount can seemingly infuse the park with anything from its IP portfolio. In addition to the aforementioned franchises, this includes the “Mission: Impossible” and “Gladiator” films. Nickelodeon in and of itself is a wealth of popular and beloved properties: “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Dora the Explorer,” “Rugrats” … the list goes on.
Perhaps less susceptible to theme park adaptation, but nonetheless owned by Paramount, are hit films like “Mean Girls” and long-running CBS shows like “Survivor.” Some of Paramount’s other prolific movies contain licensed characters that the studio doesn’t own itself, such as “Transformers” (Hasbro) and “Sonic the Hedgehog” (Sega).
Paramount franchises sometimes manifest at Universal theme parks, such as in a haunted house based on “A Quiet Place” at Halloween Horror Nights in 2024 and a “Star Trek: Picard” experience at Universal Fan Fest Nights in 2025. Come 2026, Bikini Bottom will be a land at the new Universal Kids theme park in Texas. Beyond Universal, in 2024, a “SpongeBob” dark ride opened in Las Vegas. The Nickelodeon Universe indoor theme parks are arguably the most prominent location-based experience of Paramount IP in the U.S. today.
Stay tuned to AttractionsMagazine.com for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, and independent attractions around the world.
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