Smart City, Songdo International City and the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ). 

By Don Southerton, Songdo IBD CityTalk Editor and Chief Blogger

I was excited to see this announcement. Megabox is popular in Korea, so are films. Did you know the first films were shown in Korea during the late 1890s. In fact, in 1899, Burton Holmes, the great travelogue writer and lecturer, entertained the Korean royal family with motion pictures. Today Korean cinema has gained much international acclaim.

Taubman Asia, a subsidiary of U.S. mall REIT, Taubman Centers, Inc. today officially announced that cinema multiplex leader Megabox, has signed as the cinema operator and third anchor tenant in Songdo Shopping Center situated in the heart of the master-planned Songdo International Business District (Songdo IBD), Incheon, Korea. Songdo IBD is being developed by New York headquartered Gale International and Korea’s Posco E&C.

“This is the third major anchor signing to be completed for Songdo Shopping Center, following the announcement of Lotte Department Store back in April, and Tesco Homeplus in September,” said Morgan Parker, president of Taubman Asia, the manager and developer of Songdo Shopping Center.

“We are thrilled to secure Megabox as an anchor tenant. Megabox is widely recognized in Korea as the premier provider of big screen entertainment,” Parker said.

The Megabox multiplex at the Songdo Shopping Center will feature nine theaters with seating for approximately 1,900 patrons. One of the nine theaters will be “M Class,” Megabox’s up-market, luxury experience, featuring a large format screen and superior sound system.

“The Megabox deal is a significant milestone for this project, as it is the first lifestyle/entertainment provider for the shopping center in Songdo IBD,” added Parker. “This is in keeping with our vision of developing a leisure lifestyle and entertainment destination, in addition to a retail complex of international standards. The Megabox complex will perfectly augment the international luxury lifestyle shopping and amenities planned for the shopping center.”

The two-level enclosed international style shopping center, designed by globally renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, with interior design by Benoy, will be the first of its kind in Korea. It is being developed as an integrated space and includes a Lotte Department Store, a Tesco Homeplus hypermarket, a Megabox multiplex cinema, a food emporium, an ice rink, and approximately 150 specialty stores.

For more information about Taubman, visit www.taubman.com