(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Chung-won = Lee Seok-myeong, chairman of Dongma Co., Ltd., who introduced Korea's first rotating roller coaster, '88 Train', to Children's Grand Park in 1984, passed away at 10:19 pm on the 23rd at Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, his family reported on the 24th. Age 94.
The deceased, who was born in Busan, graduated from Busan Technical High School and Military Academy (11th class). He participated in the Vietnam War, served as an operational staff member of the North Korean Command, and received the Hwarang Military Service Medal. He was retired as colonel in 1978. In the early 1980s, when he worked at Daewoo Industrial and was the president of Korea Development, he received an offer to run a children's center amusement facility and founded Dongma. At that time, there was a 'Blue Dragon Train' in domestic amusement parks that did not rotate 360 degrees but only moved up and down and made U-turns on a general parallel track.
During an interview with Weekly Chosun in 2013, he explained the reason for thinking about bringing in a rotary train, saying, "When I was on active duty, I went to study at the Army Staff College in the United States. During winter vacation, I went to Disneyland and it was a dream garden. I thought it would be great for us to have a facility that could entertain people like this, and that was the beginning of destiny." The business license was granted on the condition that it open before Children's Day in 1984. A business agreement (MOU) was signed with Meisho, which was in charge of the Osaka Expo facilities in Japan, and a 360-degree rotating train was introduced.
It was named '88 Train'. Some people speculated that the name was given in commemoration of the 1988 Olympics, but the deceased said in an interview with Weekly Chosun, "It has nothing to do with the 1988 Olympics, and the name was contested among employees. One employee said the shape of the train turning looked like the character 88, so the name he came up with was chosen."
It was on March 15, 1984 that the 88 train appeared at the amusement park in Children's Grand Park in Neungdong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. Rail length 597m, maximum speed 80km/h. A rotating train carrying up to 24 people passed the peak of 25 meters above the ground, plummeted toward the ground, and then instantly rotated 360 degrees, providing thrilling fear for 3 minutes. Tourist buses from the countryside lined up in front of Children's Grand Park to take this ride.
In an interview with Weekly Chosun, the deceased said, "I heard the rumor that North Korea's Kim Il-sung invited Meisho's Okamodo president to North Korea. This is the story told directly by the Okamodo president. Kim Il-sung said, 'South Korea's 88 train is popular, and I will give you all the money you ask for, so please install it next to Kim Il-sung's villa.' When asked about the size of South Korea's 88 train, it is actually less than 600m. “I answered 1000m, and then they asked me to make it 2000m, twice the size of South Korea.” After much deliberation, President Okamodo changed the design to rotate 360 degrees twice and installed a rotating train in North Korea in 1985, but it is reported that there were no regular customers and that North Korean soldiers were using it for courage training.
Following the 88 train, 360-degree rotating trains were launched at Everland and Lotte World. The deceased invested in additional facilities and extended the contract to operate for 20 years. Following Children's Grand Park, the Busan Children's Grand Park amusement facility was also operated on consignment for 20 years starting in 1988. Children's Grand Park Train 88 ceased operation in 2012 and disappeared into the POSCO furnace on March 27, 2013.
The deceased created the Amusement Park Association (now the Korea Theme Park Association) in 1984 and registered it with the International Association. The association, which includes Samsung Everland and other comprehensive amusement facilities across the country, has transformed into an organization in charge of safety review of amusement rides.
Even in his later years, the deceased operated the Imjingak Peace Land amusement facility as the chairman of the club. In 2013, the Weekly Chosun reported that the deceased went to work at Pyeonghwa Land every day and went on rides every day. His son, Lee Jae-jin, a professor at Hanyang University, said, “He went to work at Pyeonghwa Land two days before he was hospitalized with pneumonia on October 16 last year,” and added, “He liked the ‘sound industry,’ where he could work with children.” He received the Silver Tower Order of Industrial Service Merit on Tourism Day on September 27, 2013.
Survivors include his wife, Youngja Kim, three sons (Jaejin Lee (Chairman of the Internet Newspaper Ethics Committee, Professor at Hanyang University), Sangcheol Lee (Business), and Jaeho Lee (Professor at Hiroshima City University)), and Daughter-in-law Namhee Do (former Director of the Audit Office at the Childcare Policy Research Institute) and Jitsuko Yokoda. The funeral will be held in room 11 of the funeral hall at Hanyang University Hospital (condolences available from 11 a.m. on the 25th), funeral at 5:30 a.m. on the 27th, and burial site at the Seoul National Cemetery.
