Imbuing the value of traditional hanok into modern architecture Sejong City¡¯s healing destinations: Choi Hanok Hotel, Choi Hanok Theme Park and Choi World

Feel and enjoy a traditional Korean charm through the theme park Choi World opens March this year with the largest leisure facilities in the western region ¿øÇì·¹³ª ±âÀÚl½ÂÀÎ2023.03.21l¼öÁ¤2023.03.21 16:21

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Hanok, which contains the wisdom of Korean people, is called a collection of art and science. Pollution-free, eco-friendly building materials create a pleasant indoor environment. The elegant curvaceous beauty that adapts to nature is recognized worldwide for its outstanding originality. Even if the time changes, hanok flexibly adapts to and improves our lifestyle and emotions, and they transform continuously to this day. Recently, the value of hanok has been re-examined, and it is gaining attention as an alternative to existing residential and business spaces. Among these entrepreneurs, Choi Hanok Group (CEO Choi Ji-ho) is creating a buzz through diversification of lodging, leisure, and cultural businesses with a unique charm and edge of hanok. Monthly PowerKorea sat down with CEO Choi at his Choi Hanok Cafe in Sejong City and learned his business and vision. 

 

Choi Hanok Group is a venture that is running businesses in the fields of traditional hanok structures, local leisure, property development, and renewable energy. Based on the spirit of coexistence, the company has a goal of ‘maintaining precious traditions and contributing to the development of local communities’. It currently operates Choi Hanok Hotel Gongju Branch, Choi Car Theater, Choi Hanok Café, and Choi Convenience Store. It is set to open Choi World, the largest themed resort park in the western region, in March. The development of Choi Guest Hotel and Hanok Town House, which will absorb the high population influx and floating population in Sejong City, is also being pushed forward. The company has two affiliates: Erae and Ebene Solar Power.

 

Planning a ‘modern hanok’ that combines the advantages of tradition and modernity

CEO Choi is a financial resource with a career as a PD of entertainment and educational programs alongside appearing himself in a number of programs after going through a master’s degree in Canada. Fascinated by the beauty of traditional hanok since studying abroad, he set a goal of creating a healing cultural space with the theme of hanok on top of the foundation inherited from his parents. He studied in-depth in accommodation that can provide pleasant and precious memories to modern people who seek new experiences and a leisurely life. As a result, he succeeded in independently developing a modern hanok construction method that harmonizes the advantages of modern buildings and traditional hanok. The basic structure of the building is maintained in a modern style, but the construction method, which is designed in the form of hanok building materials and designs applied to the interior and exterior, is currently in the process of applying for a patent while a design patent has already been obtained. The Choi Hanok Hotel Gongju branch, Sejong City Choi Hanok Café, and Choi Convenience Store, where this method was implemented, are already attracting people by word of mouth as a comfortable resting place. 

 

[Choi Hanok Hotel]

Eyeing ‘Choi Hanok Hotel’ as a nationwide hotel chain through its unique value of modern-tradition harmony

Take a comfortable rest in the beautiful exterior, ocher and cypress trees, and the pleasant interior 

Choi Hanok Hotel Gongju, which opened in March 2019, is a work of CEO Choi’s passion for ‘combining modern architecture and authenticity of hanok’. The beautiful appearance of ‘modern hanok’ melted into the city catches the attention of travelers at once. 

Choi inherited the building from his parents and transformed the interior and exterior into a space that reflects the characteristics of a hanok while preserving the skeleton of a conventional building. Choi Hanok Hotel Gongju, located in the center of the city, is a 528 square meter 4-story building with 20 rooms that combine the healthy and comfortable indoor environment of a hanok with the convenience of modern architecture. A pleasant indoor space made of ocher and cypress trees provides healing for the mind and body, and you can see the scenery of Gongsanseong Fortress, a cultural heritages of Baekje, at a glance. It has become famous as a place for young people looking for new experiences, family trips, and business trips, and has quickly become a holy place for Gongju. Choi said, “I will fulfill my goal of the nationwide chain of Choi Hanok Hotels so that people can enjoy the unique stays anywhere in the nation within 3 years.” Following the opening of the branch Jeju Airport, Seogwipo, and Udo in the first half of next year, he plans to complete seven branches connecting Busan, the East Coast, the West Coast, and Seoul. 

Choi Hanok Hotel is preparing a differentiated service that will solve all the time-wasting and inconveniences that many people have experienced while traveling in Jeju. In addition to renting a car, the hotel chain will move around luggage to the next lodging so that travelers can focus on their travel without a worry. Choi said, “At Choi Hanok Hotel, we are constantly working hard to impress our customers with personalized services.”

 

[Choi Hanok Theme Park] 

See, feel, and enjoy the beauty and value of Korean tradition 

Choi Car Theater, Choi Hanok Cafe, Choi Convenience Store, Choi Hanok Hotel... where you can sit back and heal

In Daegyo-ri, Janggun-myeon, Sejong-si, Choi Hanok Theme Park on a aprox. 15,206 square meter land is welcoming guests with which it will write a new history in Korean theme parks. Here, travelers can enjoy the opportunity of healing while staying at the Choi Hanok Cafe, Choi Car Theater and Choi Convenience Store. In the years to come, he will push forward his plan of hanok village activity and hanok accommodation projects. 

 

Choi Car Theater

Opened in October 2021, Choi Car Theater is the first drive-in theater in the western part of Sejong City. It has a large screen and the highest level of laser projector installed on a site of 15,206 square meters, and has space that can accommodate 50 cars. The large space is used as a parking lot during the day, and at night, after watching a movie, you can enjoy a drink at Choi Convenience Store, Choi Hanok Cafe, or Choi Jumak located right next door. 

Choi Hanok Cafe

Choi Hanok Café, opened in December 2022, has a luxurious hanok space consisting of a three-story duplex. In the space where the wood and ocher interiors are harmonized, you can feel the touch of the hanok ranch, giving you comfort and enjoying the peaceful rural scenery outside the window. The finest coffee beans and various teas extracted by professional baristas provide a relaxed and rich daily life. 

Choi said, “Café tours, where not only young people but also families visit famous cafes in the outskirts by car, have become a kind of trend these days. Choi Hanok Cafe will be a healing spot where modern people who are oriented toward value consumption can enjoy the atmosphere and culture of traditional hanok and leisure. Here, we will introduce a bakery with a special taste and make it the best bakery cafe in Sejong City.” 

 

Choi Convenience Store

Choi Hanok Group also operates Choi Convenience Store, a consumer-oriented wholesale and retail distribution business. Choi’s convenience store, which is unique from the exterior of the hanok-style building, is differentiated from existing convenience stores in all aspects, including products, services, and displays. Beyond selling products on display, the store is creating value beyond convenience stores. The first store is in operation at Choi Hanok Theme Park in Sejong City, and the second store is in operation at Choi Hanok Hotel Gongju. After opening the 3rd store, it plans to expand nationwide.

 

Choi Jumak 

Expectations are high for Choi Jumak, which reproduces the warm atmosphere and taste of a typical old thatched-roofed inn. It is CEO Choi’s idea to captivate dinners with traditional makgeolli (rice wine), pajeon (pan cake), rice soup, and pork as the main menu. 

 

Choi Guest Hotel

Choi Guest Hotel and Choi Hanok Townhouse construction are also promoted in the Choi Hanok Theme Park complex. Choi Guest Hotel will be built as the first high-end hotel in the western part of Sejong City. On the first floor, a lobby, cafe, and restaurant are opened to provide traditional wedding and reception services, and the second, third, and fourth floors are created as offices and accommodations. The second floor will be equipped with office stay facilities for the workers and businessmen of the Sejong Government Complex, who will be the main customers, and the third floor will be equipped with hanok-style accommodations and guesthouses for travelers from home and abroad. In the rooftop garden on the 4th floor, a caravan is installed for family hotel visitors to enjoy the romance of camping. 

 

Choi Hanok Townhouse

Choi Hanok Townhouse is built on steel/concrete structure in the form of a luxurious Hanok terrace with the advantages of a Hanok inside and roof tiles placed on top. The plan is to complete the Choi Hanok Theme Park complex by parcelling out about 40 households in 7 buildings.

Choi Hanok Theme Park will open a new chapter in theme parks. It is expected to increase in value in the future as several favorable developments set to implement: Government Complex-Sejong continues in demand, Tomb of General Kim Jong-seo History Theme Park and Baekje Tourism Complex Creation, and construction of the Seoul-Sejong Expressway and new towns in the Songseon and Donghyeon districts. 

 

[Choi World]

The largest theme-type resort park in the western region ‘Choi World’ opens in March

Tourist farms and glamping will provide unforgettable memories and experiences

Choi Hanok Group will open another ambitious project in the field of culture and leisure business: the theme resort park ‘Choi World’ in March 2023. Choi World, the largest theme-type resort park in the western region, will be built on a large-scale site of 33,057 square meters adjacent to the KTX station in Gongju City. In line with the latest trends, the following facilities will be built: ¢º20 tourist activity farms ¢ºself-camping grounds ¢ºIndian camp zone for glamping ¢ºlarge outdoor swimming pool and footbath ¢ºbarbecue zone with outdoor theater equipped with a huge screen ¢ºa caravan zone ¢º Choi Convenience Store 3rd branch. Choi World is predicting a new chapter in theme parks by comprehensively accommodating customer needs through linking and operating 7 subdivided areas.

‘Choi World’ seems that there is no shortage as the best resting place where families, friends, and lovers can enjoy camping leisurely and wash away the fatigue of everyday life in the nature where green forests and clear valleys flow. The 33,057 square meter tourist farm has a fruit tree farm where you can engage in picking princess chestnuts and various other fruits. The 20 themed activity farms are equipped with slugs, ginseng, screen golf, futsal fields, auditoriums, and meeting rooms. CEO Choi said, “Our goal is to provide precious and happy memories to visitors who will never forget the time for the rest of their lives. We will be ready to provide a special impression with convenient facilities and differentiated services.”

 

[Renewable energy business]

Choi Hanok Group is also continuing its new and renewable energy business. The company is operating a solar power plant operated by its affiliates, Erae, Ebene and Erae Hangji, on a 24,793 square meter site near Choi World. It produces new and renewable energy to stably supply energy resources to the local community and contributes to the eco-friendly energy business led by the state. 

‘Co-prosperity and innovation’ and presenting a new model in the field of tourism, leisure and culture

Providing optimal convenience and enriching daily life to customers

CEO Choi is expanding his business area with his extraordinary passion and challenge for hanok, and is continuing his wide-ranging moves. “In the early days of the business, there were worries and concerns from family and people around, but thankfully, all the projects have been successful and are now fully recognized. Choi Hanok Group’s Korean-style theme park and leisure and cultural activity space will be linked to increase synergy and provide optimal convenience and affluent daily life to our customers.” In recognition of its contribution to spreading the beauty of hanok, creating jobs and promoting tourist industry, Choi Hanok Group received the 2022 Korea Customer Satisfaction & Innovative Management Brand Award held by Herald. Under the value of ‘coexistence and innovation’, the company is presenting a new model in the field of tourism, leisure and culture. In particular, ‘Hanok Theme Park’ and ‘Choi World’ are expected to serve as an oasis in Sejong City, which lacks recreational and cultural facilities despite the continuous population growth.


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