Yongin City, South Korea (April 20, 2013) — The Lost Valley, a one-of-its-kind in the world safari attraction, opened on today in Yongin, South Korea. This adventure world takes visitors on a special journey to a place shrouded in legend, featuring an impressive array of animal and plant life, as well as a unique history and landscape which guests can discover and experience with an amphibious vehicle. Vying against six international agencies, the Berlin based creative agency dan pearlman won the competition with its Lost Valley concept, implementing the vision of this special destination after only a two-year period of planning and construction. This attraction sets a benchmark all over the world in the realm of experience architecture and builds on the reputation of the Samsung Everland brand as one of the Top Ten leisure parks in the world.
Roughly two years ago, following a complex briefing by the client, the architects and landscape architects of dan pearlman faced an enormous challenge: creating a fully-integrated safari adventure which is linked to a complex transportation system and provides a range of animal life the exact home it requires, and thus significantly raises attendance levels at the adventure park. But before all else, something unique had to be created with the visitor’s experience in mind: a captivating legend that leads deep into the heart of the Lost Valley and gets each guest personally involved.
Given the natural lay of the land and the variety of species planned, it quickly became clear that a classic theme world was not the right answer for the task at hand. Instead, the solution involved creating an entirely new, fictional place that utilizes all of the topographical features and also makes it look as if the valley had been there forever and was only visited previously by very few people.
Numerous cave paintings welcome guests at the park entrance and turn the queue into the first search for clues into the secrets of the Lost Valley. According to legend, animals and man lived side by side in peace for eons. Then Homo Sapiens discovered hunting and the animals ran off to a faraway world, settling down there in the Lost Valley. Man finally realized the consequences of his actions and went in search of the animals in order to ask for forgiveness and to live with them in peaceful co-existence from then on. The spirits of Tau the white lion and Jum the elephant still protect the valley today, and function as symbols of a harmonious life together. And today as well, one finds people here who have made protecting nature and animals their highest priority and live here as the Wildlife Watch Team.
Conceived by dan pearlman, the legend serves as the basis for the overall plan and character of the Lost Valley and is reflected throughout the park. This begins with the Hidden Entrance, which introduces visitors to the history of the location, and also includes the Wildlife Trail, which leads to the first camp of the original settlers and still serves as lodging for the Wildlife Watch Team today. Here visitors can learn about the work the team does as well as the knowledge that has been gained from decades’ worth of research, and thus prepare themselves for the expedition deep into the heart of the Valley.
Awaiting visitors just past the building exit is a very special highlight and the beginning of a one-of-a-kind journey: the Amphibious Vehicle. With its unconventional appearance and ability to transport people over land or water, the vehicle accentuates the extraordinary history of the Lost Valley and can easily keep up with desired visitor numbers with its forty-person capacity.
Passing through the elephant forest and along the gigantic waterfall, one reaches the Temple of Tau from the Great Savannah by following the entire 1260 metre-long, intricately designed rock wall, which ranges between 3.5 and 8 metres in height. In addition to the visual effect of implied animal forms and authentic looking rock formations, the wall also functions as living quarters for the animals and its location makes it easy for service vehicles to reach it using access roads. Moreover, all architectural elements were constructed along the park perimeter to give the animals maximum space and the most accurate type of habitat possible.
In the Wet Savannah, hunter and hunted meet at the Great Water Hole. The bridge for feeding the giraffes enhances visitor interaction with the fauna, and is followed by the Flamingo Swamp, the last stop on the event-packed tour.
Conceived around a history rich in details, the entire tour both entertains and educates visitors. The shifting variety of landscapes have been designed in such a way that no visible barriers exist between animals and man, thus creating for the visitor the impression of being a part of the Lost Valley—to an innovation in the adventure park sector that adds another destination to the map of adventure.
